FLORISTIC ANALYSIS

Since the Peninsular India being the part of the Gondwanaland in the

remote past, the flora have many similarities with that of S. America, Africa,

Malesian Islands, Madagascar, Australia and Antartica, which were parted off

from the Gondwanaland around 100 million years ago. Many species of plants

are found common with these countries especially South Africa, Sri Lanka and

Malesia and many plants seen in Peninsular India are true poly topic species

(Wood, 1974). Nayar (1980) had brought out several examples to substantiate

this view and the origin of Indian flora, and he was of the view that characteristic

flora of India is that of Peninsular India. The flora of Western Ghats stands

significant in Indian Flora because of high species diversity even in small areas.

Of the total number of 17,000 species of Angiosperms in India, Western Ghats

possesses more than 4000 species including many paleo-endemics (Nayar, 1982).

The present floristic study in Wayanad resulted in the collection,

identification and description of 2034 taxa of flowering plants in a total area of

2136 sq. km. The magnitude of the species diversity is clear when it is

compared with that of other regional and district Floras of Kerala (Table 2).

The total number of 2034 species belonging to 903 genera and 171 families

recorded from the area of present study form nearly half of the flora of the

Kerala state (4679 taxa) and more than 10 % of the flora of India. Among the 3

indigenous gymnosperms reported from Kerala, 2 were collected from the

district. They belong to the order Cycadales and Gnetales. Of the 2034 taxa,

Dicotyledons are represented by 1521 species belonging to 676 genera under

140 families, and Monocotyledons by 511 species belonging to 225 genera

under 29 families (Table 3, Figure 2). All the top ten families of Western Ghats

are well represented in Wayanad also, except few families like Asclepiadaceae

(Table 4, Figure 3). Fabaceae with 185 species in 68 genera is the largest

family followed by Orchidaceae with 165 species in 68 genera. Poaceae is the

third largest family represented in the district with 163 species in 65 genera.

Among the rest of the families Rubiaceae has 98 species in 36 genera,

Euphorbiaceae with 87 species in 36 genera, Asteraceae with 71 species in 41

genera, Acanthaceae with 67 species in 21 genera, Lamiaceae with 44 species

in 14 genera, Cyperaceae with 38 species in 12 genera and Myrtaceae with 33

32

species in 6 genera. Among the 169 families, 35 dicot and 8 monocot families

are represented by single species each.

Table 2. Comparison of the Flora of Wayanad with other regional floras of Kerala

Sl. No.

Name of the Flora Number of

species Number of

genera Area (km2)

1 Flora of Calicut District 983 566 600 2. Flora of Cannanore 1132 658 3,670 3. Flora of Palghat District 1355 732 4,400 4. Flora of Pathanamthitta 1249 658 2,697 5. Flowering plants of Thrissur forest 1225 703 1,041 6. Flora of Silent Valley 966 559 90 7. Flora of Malappuram District 813 511 3,548 8. Flora of Nilambur 1132 665 150 9. Flora of Alappuzha District 1111 617 1414 10. Flora of Thiruvananthapuram 1270 710 2,191 11. Flora of Periyar Tiger Reserve 1978 828 777 12. Flora of Agasthyamala Biological Park 1117 585 200 13 Flora of Parambikulam WLS 1432 801 274 14. Flora of Wayanad District 2034 903 2,136

Table 3. Flowering plants c in Wayanad district

Sub-group Families Genera Taxa Dicot 140 676 1521 Monocot 29 225 511 Gymnosperms 2 2 2 Total 171 903 2034

Table 4. Relative abundance of the top ten families in Wayanad district and Kerala

Wayanad Kerala Sl. No Family

Genera Species Genera Species 1. Fabaceae 68 185 93 381 2. Orchidaceae 68 165 79 269 3. Poaceae 65 163 118 409 4. Rubiaceae 36 98 55 243 5. Euphorbiaceae 36 87 46 181 6. Asteraceae 41 71 64 182 7. Acanthaceae 21 67 34 181 8. Lamiaceae 14 44 23 116 9. Cyperaceae 12 38 19 219 10 Myrtaceae 6 33 10 57

33

Figure 2. Composition of Angiosperms in Wayanad district.

1521

511

676

225

140

29

Dicots

Monocots

Taxa Genera Families

Except the Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Orchidaceae the monocots in general

are poorly represented. Out of the 511 monocot species, 366 species belong to

the above three families (72%). Similarly among the dicots, the Fabaceae,

Rubiaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Myrtaceae and

Acanthaceae constitute about 39 % of the total number of species.

A comparison of the 10 largest families in order of their species richness

and order of dominance with that of India (Hooker, 1904), Madras Presidency

(Gamble & Fischer, 1915-1936), the Western Ghats (Subramanyam & Nayar,

1974b.) and the Kerala (Sasidharan, 2004) shows that many of these families

are well represented in the study area, but the ranks are slightly altered.

Fabaceae, which forms the largest family in the Madras Presidency, take the

first position in the district, and in the Western Ghats and Kerala this is the

second largest family. Orchidaceae, which form the largest family in India take

the second position in the order of dominance in Wayanad district, where as in

Kerala and Western Ghats their position is third and fourth respectively.

Poaceae is the third largest family in the district, but in the Western Ghats

34

and Kerala Poaceae take the first position and in the Madras Presidency this is

the second largest family. Rubiaceae, fourth in the Indian and Kerala flora and

third in the Madras Presidency have come to the fourth position compared to

their seventh position in the Western Ghats flora. Euphorbiaceae, the fifth

largest family in the Indian flora and Madras Presidency, remain in the fifth

position in Wayanad district also. In Kerala this is the seventh largest family.

Asteraceae, one of the largest Angiosperm families in the world has come in

the sixth position in Wayanad compared to their eighth position in Kerala.

Acanthaceae is the seventh largest family in the district. In India and Kerala

Acanthaceae attain the sixth position and fourth in Western Ghats.

Lamiaceae, the nineth largest family in Kerala comes in the eighth position in

the district. The Cyperaceae, the fifth largest family in Kerala comes only in

the ninth position in Wayanad District and Myrtaceae is in the tenth position.

Figure 3. Relative abundance of the top ten families in Wayanad

185165 163

9887

71 67

44 38 33

7868 65

36 36 4121 14 12 6

020406080

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Taxa Genera

Top three families, Fabaceae, Orchidaceae and Poaceae, were critically

analysed with respect to their species diversity, endemism and rarity.

35

Fabaceae

Fabaceae, a predominantly tropical family with diverse group of plants is

well represented in Western Ghats with more than 95 genera and 400 species.

In the present study Fabaceae rank first in the order of dominance with 68

genera and 185 species under 3 subfamilies. Of this, Faboideae contains 122

species under 43 genera, subfamily Caesalpinioideae contains 38 species

under 13 genera, and subfamily Mimosoideae contains 25 species under 13

genera (Table 5). It was observed that the members of this family are

comparatively less in higher elevations and the diversity is more in moist

deciduous forest patches and open areas in the district. This family is

represented with a high degree of diversity in habit and habitat and includes

trees, sub-shrubs, herbs and climbers. There are 29 trees and 42 climbers

and some of the top canopy trees are Pterocarpus marsupium, Kingiodendron

pinnatum, Albizia lebbeck, Xylia xylocarpa, Dalbergia sissoides, D. latifolia, etc.

Some of the notable climbers/lianas are Derris brevipes, Derris canarensis,

Spatholobus parviflorus, Kunsteleria keralensis, Dalbergia volubilis, Dalbergia

malabarica, Entada rheedei, Mucuna monosperma and Peuraria tuberosa. The

largest genus is Crotalaria with 16 species, followed by Desmodium with 13

species. Other genus with 5 or more species are Cajanus (6), Dalbergia (6),

Flemingia (5), Indigofera (7), Smithia (6), Tephrosia (6), Vigna (5), Chamaecrista

(5), Senna (6), Acasia (6) and Albizia (5).

Out of the 185 species collected, 25 are endemic to Western Ghats and 18

species are restricted to southern Western Ghats. In the subfamily Faboideae

17 are Peninsular Indian endemic species including 11 southern Western

Ghat endemics. There are 6 species already been listed as rare and threatened

(Ahmedullah & Nayar, 1987; Nayar, 1997). These are Crotalaria bidie,

Crotalaria clarkei, Dalbergia malabarica, Derris benthamii, Indigofera constricta

and Kunstleria keralensis. Crotalaria bidie is a Western Ghat endemic rare

herb and in Kerala it was reported only from Wayanad district. Dalbergia

malabarica is a rare climbing shrub found in moist deciduous forest of the

district, and in Kerala it was earlier reported only from Thiruvananthapuram

district. Derris benthamii is an endangered climber with very restricted

population. Twelve species of this subfamily are common to Peninsular India

36

and Sri Lanka, and these species are Cajanus albicans, Dalbergia volubilis,

Derris benthamii, Indigofera constricta, Ormocarpum cochinchinense,

Pterocarpus marsupium, Rhynchosia cana, Pseudarthria viscida, Tephrosia

pulcherima, Tephrosia tinctoria and Vigna grahamiana. Seventeen species are

Indo-Malesian in distribution and some of these species are Crotalaria nana,

Derris scandens, Flemingia strobilifera, Tephrosia purpurea and Vigna trilobata.

Almost all other species have distribution in Tropical Africa, Java, southern

China, South America and Australia.

Among the 27 species of the subfamily Caesalpinioideae, 7 are endemic to

Western Ghats. These are Bauhinia phoenicea, Caesalpinia spicata, Cynometra

beddomei, Cynometra travancorica, Humboldtia brunonis, Kingiodendron

pinnatum, and Senna intermedia. Endangered tree species collected with

restricted population are Cynometra beddomei, Cynometra travancorica,

Saraca asoca and Kingiodendron pinnatum (Hilton Taylor, 2000). Two species

of this subfamily, Bauhinia racemosa and Chamaecrista kleinii are common in

Peninsular India and Sri Lanka. Indo-Malesian species found in the district

are Cassia fistula, Bauhinia malabarica, Caesalpinia cucullata and Caesalpinia

mimosoides. Except Archiodendron monadelphum var. gracile, all other species

of the subfamily Mimosoideae are pantropical in distribution.

Table 5. Details of the family Fabaceae represented in Wayanad district

Number of Genera 68

Number of Species 185

Number of species in Faboideae 122

Number of species in Caesalpinioideae 38

Number of species in Mimosoideae 25

Genera with more than 5 species 13

Species endemic to Western Ghats 25

Species endemic to southern Western Ghats 18

Number of tree species 29

Indo-Sri Lankan species 14

Indo-Malesian species 24

Rare and threatened species 14

Number of species endemic to Kerala 4

37

Orchidaceae

The present study on the flora of Wayanad district revealed the richness

and diversity of orchids of this area and in the order of dominance the family

Orchidaceae ranks second in the district. Ramachandran and Nair (1988) who

have studied the flora of Cannanore district covered some floristic regions of

northern part of Wayanad district and recorded 35 orchids from Chanthanathodu

and Thirunelli. Abraham and Vatsala (1981) had also mentioned Wayanad as

one of their orchid collection sites. In the area of present study, the family is

represented by 165 species belonging to 68 genera (Table 6). Of these, 59 species

belonging to 29 genera are terrestrial in habit, while 106 species in 39 genera

are epiphytic. The present record of 165 species of orchids from the district

became the highest number recorded from a district or Sanctuary in Kerala state

(Table 8). Oberonia with 17 species is the largest genus followed by Dendrobium

with 14 species. Habenaria and Bulbophyllum are represented with 12 species

each. Other genera with 5 or more species are Eria, Liparis, and Peristylus.

Among the 165 species collected, 15 species have been categorized as rare

and threatened (Joseph, 1977; Henry et al., 1984; Jain & Sastry, 1984;

Ahmedullah & Nayar, 1986; Nayar, 1997) including 8 Indian Red Data Book

listed species. They are Bulbophyllum aureum, Bulbophyllum acutiflorum,

Bulbophyllum elagantulum, Bulbophyllum mysorense, Bulbophyllum

fuscopurpureum, Cirrhopetalum neilgherrense, Coelogyne mossiae, Corymborkis

veratrifolia, Eria albiflora, Habenaria barnesii, Ipsea malabarica, Dendrobium

jerdonianum, Dendrobium microbulbon, Habenaria richardiana and Oberonia

brachyphylla.

Table 6. Details of the family Orchidaceae represented in Wayanad

Genera 68

Species 165

Epiphytes 106

Terrestrials 59

Endemic to southern Western Ghats 54

Endemic to Peninsular India 76

Endemic to Kerala 5

Species common to South India and Sri Lanka 37

Indo-Malesian 20

38

Among the 142 endemic orchids of Peninsular India (Sathish Kumar &

Manilal, 1994), 76 species are found in the district, which includes 57

epiphytes and 19 terrestrial species. Among these 54 species are endemic to

southern Western Ghats and Bulbophyllum silentvalliensis, Eria tiagii, Ipsea

malabarica, Kingidium niveum and Oberonia wynadensis are endemic to

Kerala part of southern Western Ghats. Genus with 5 or more species were

analyzed for their endemism (Table 7). Among those, Bulbophyllum and Eria

showed maximum representation of endemic taxa with 100% endemism,

followed by Habenaria with 79% and Oberonia with 61%.

Table 7. Genera with 5 or more species and percentage of endemism

Sl. No. Genus No. of species Endemics % of endemism

1 Bulbophyllum 12 12 100 %

2. Eria 6 6 100 %

3. Habenaria 12 11 79 %

4. Oberonia 17 11 61 %

5. Dendrobium 14 8 53 %

6. Liparis 8 0 0 %

7. Peristylus 6 2 20 %

All the 12 species of the genus Bulbophyllum occurring in Wayanad are

endemic to southern Western Ghats. These are Bulbophyllum aureum (listed in

Indian Red Data Book, narrow endemic to Wayanad region of the Western

Ghats), Bulbophyllum silentvalliensis (recently discovered species from Silent

Valley area of southern Western Ghats), Bulbophyllum tremulum, Bulbophyllum

elegantulum (an endangered epiphytic herb listed in Indian Red Data Book,

endemic to Wayanad part of the southern Western Ghats), Bulbophyllum

fimbriatum, Bulbophyllum acutiflorum (narrow endemic epiphytic herb listed in

the Indian Red Data Book), Bulbophyllum fuscopurpureum (an endangered

epiphytic herb endemic to the southern Western Ghats), Bulbophyllum

mysorensis (an endangered epiphytic herb endemic to the southern Western

Ghats), Bulbophyllum rheedei (reported only from Kerala), and Bulbophyllum

sterile.

39

Table 8. Comparison of Orchid diversity of Wayanad with that of other regional floras of Kerala

Name of the area No. of

species No. of genera

Reference

Kerala State 216 70 Manilal, K. S. & C. Sathish

Kumar, 1993.

Wayanad District 165 68 Present study Periyar Tiger Reserve 148 62 Augustine, J., 2000.

Silent Valley National Park 108 49 Manilal, K. S., 1988.

Parambikulam Wildlife

Sanctuary

77 44 Sujanapal, P., 2005.

Thiruvanthapuram District 74 43 Mohanan, N. & A.N. Henry,

1994.

Agasthymala Forests 74 41 Mohanan, N. & M.

Sivadasan, 2002.

Palghat District 73 42 Vajravelu, E., 1990. Shenduruny Wildlife

Sanctuary

70 44 Sasidharan, N., 1997.

Thrissur Forests 69 39 Sasidharan, N. & V. V.

Sivarajan, 1996.

Pathanmthitta District 50 30 Anil Kumar, N., et al., 2005.

Cannanore District 47 35 Ramachandran, V. S. & V. J.

Nair, 1988.

Nilambur Forests 39 28 Sivarajan, V. V. & P.

Mathew, 1996.

Thenmala Forest Division 25 18 Subramanian, K. N., 1995

Calicut District 10 9 Manilal, K. S. & V. V.

Sivarajan, 1982.

Alappuzha District 10 9 Sunil, C. N. & M. Sivadasan,

2009.

Among the 14 species of the genus Dendrobium found in different forest

types of Wayanad, 6 are endemic to Peninsular India and 2 are restricted to

southern Western Ghats. These are Dendrobium aqueum, Dendrobium

barbatulum, Dendrobium herbaceum, Dendrobium heyneanum, Dendrobium

jerdonianum, Dendrobium microbulbon (endangered epiphyte listed in Indian

Red Data Book), Dendrobium nanum and Dendrobium ovatum. All the 6 species

40

of the genus Eria collected from Wayanad are endemic to Peninsular India and

these are Eria albiflora (endangered epiphytic herb listed in Indian Red Data

Book), Eria exilis, Eria mysorensis, Eria pauciflora, Eria polystachya and Eria

tiagii (endemic to Kerala part of the southern Western Ghats, earlier reported

only from Silent Valley).

Habenaria Willd. is one of the largest pantropical genera of terrestrial

orchids. Among the 28 species recorded from Kerala, 12 are found in

Wayanad. Eleven species are endemic to Western Ghats and these are

Habenaria barnesii (red Data Book-listed endangered plant endemic to the

southern Western Ghats), Habenaria crassifolia, Habenaria heyneana,

Habenaria grandifloriformis, Habenaria longicorniculata, Habenaria longicornu,

Habenaria multicaudata, Habenaria perrottetiana, Habenaria rarifolia,

Habenaria richardiana and Habenaria roxburghii. Oberonia Lindl. is an Old

World genus of epiphytic orchids. Twenty five species are reported from Kerala,

of which 17 are found in Wayanad. Among the 11 Peninsular Indian endemic

species collected, 10 are restricted to the southern Western Ghats. These are

Oberonia anamalayana, Oberonia brachyphylla (endangered orchid listed in

Indian Red Data Book, endemic to the southern Western Ghats), Oberonia

brunoniana, Oberonia chandrasekharanii, Oberonia josephii, Oberonia

platycaulon, Oberonia proudlockii, Oberonia santapaui, Oberonia sebastiana,

Oberonia wynadensis (endemic to Wayanad part of southern Western Ghats)

and Oberonia swaminathanii (new species collected during the study).

Endemic species of the genus Kingidium found in Wayanad are Kingidium

mysorensis and Kingidium niveum. Endemic species of the genus Luisia found

in Wayanad are Luisia evangelinae and Luisia macrantha. Two endemic

species of the genus Coelogyne collected are Coelogyne mossiae (endangered

epiphytic herb listed in the Indian Red Data Book, which is endemic to

southern Western Ghats), and Coelogyne nervosa. Two Western Ghats

endemic species of the genus Propax are reported from Kerala, which are

found in Wayanad also. These are Propax jerdoniana and Propax reticulata.

Among the 5 species of the genus Seidenfia collected from Wayanad, Seidenfia

crenulata and Seidenfia intermedia are endemic to southern Western Ghats.

41

Other endemic orchids collected from Wayanad are Robiquetia josephiana,

Ipsea malabarica (an endangered orchid listed in Indian Red Data Book,

earlier reported only from Silent Valley), Seidenfadeniella rosea, Smithsonia

straminea, Trias stocksii, Aerides crispa, Anoectochilus elatus, Brachycorythis

splendida, Cirrhopetalum neilgherrense (an endangered epiphytic herb listed in

Indian Red Data Book, endemic to southern Western Ghats), Diplocentrum

congestum, Disperis neilgherrensis, Peristylus lawii, Flickingeria nodosa, and

Gastrochilus flabelliformis. Xenikophyton is a monotypic endemic genus of

epiphytic orchids represented by one species, Xenikophyton smeeanum, which

is found in evergreen forests of the district.

Poaceae

Poaceae stands third in the order of dominance and is well represented by

163 species belonging to 65 genera (Table 9). Among the 67 genera, Dimeria

has the highest representation with 10 species and the genus Ischaemum

stands second with 9 species. Genera Eragrostis and Panicum have 8 species

each and Arundinella has 7 species. Genera represented with 5 or more

species are Brachiaria, Cyrtococcum, Digitaria, Garnotia, Setaria and Paspalum.

Thirty five genera are represented by 1 species each. Tree grass, Bambusa

bambos is the dominant species, especially in the moist deciduous forests of

Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.

Among the 163 species collected during the study, 40 species are endemic

to Peninsular India (25 % endemism), of which 26 are restricted to southern

Western Ghats. Species like Zenkeria jainii, Dimeria copiana, Dimeria

idukkiensis, Isachne henryi, Ischaemum malabaricum, Ischaemum

pushpangadanii, Ischaemum wayanadensis, Ochlandra scriptoria, Ochlandra

beddomei and Tripogon narayanii are endemic to Kerala. Among these species

Isachne henryi and Ischaemum wayanadense are restricted to the present

study area and Zenkeria jainii, Dimeria copiana and Dimeria idukkiensis are

earlier reported only from their type localities. Species like Garnotia

puchiparensis, Ochlandra setigera, Isachne setosa and Ochlandra beddomei are

considered rare and threatened.

42

Table 9. Relative abundance of grasses occurring in the study area, Kerala state and Sri Lanka

Area No. of genera No. of species

Wayanad 65 163

Kerala 103 296

Sri Lanka 136 340

Genera with ten or more species in Wayanad district

Of the 901 genera there are 25 genera with 10 or more than 10 species in

each (Table 10). They are Crotalaria (16), Impatiens (19), Oberonia (17),

Stobilanthes (17), Ixora (10), Leucas (12), Pogostemon (10), Cyperus (12),

Desmodium (13), Dimeria (10), Dioscorea (11), Ficus (15), Habenaria (13),

Syzygium (18), Diospyros (10), Eriocaulon (10), Ipomoea (15), Phyllanthus (11),

Litsea (10), Solanum (10), Blumea (10), Bulbophyllum (11), Dendrobium (13),

Lindernia (10) and Ischaemum (11). There are 88 genera with 5 or more species

and 479 genera represented by single species each.

In the Western Ghats, Impatiens with 86 species is the largest genus and in

the present study area also it is the genus with maximum number of species.

Of the 86 species reported from the Western Ghats, 76 are endemics. Except 5

species, which are seen throughout the Western Ghats, the rest are confined

to well marked endemic centres, viz. the Nilgiri-Wayanad, Anamalai-Pulney

Hills, Anamudi High Ranges and Thirunelveli-Agasthyamala Hills. Of the 86

species recorded from Western Ghats, 67 are reported to occur in Kerala. The

Wayanad district is one of the centers of Western Ghats with a high

percentage of endemism and among the 20 species of Impatiens collected

during the present study, 18 are endemic to Peninsular India. Among these,

11 species are endemic to southern Western Ghats. Impatiens crenata,

Impatiens acaulis, Impatiens dasysperma, Impatiens herbicola, Impatiens

lucida and Impatiens neo-barnesii are considered as rare and threatened

(Nayar, 1997; Ahmedullah & Nayar, 1986). Impatiens acaulis and Impatiens

scapiflora are scapigerous herbs and seen on wet rocks in evergreen forests

and grasslands. Impatiens lawsonii, Impatiens crenata, Impatiens jerdoniae

and Impatiens parasitica are epiphytic herbs on moss covered tree trunks in

43

high altitude shola forests (Chembra, Kurichiarmala, Brahmagiri). Impatiens

scabriuscula Heyne ex Roxb. is seen only in marshy areas of moist deciduous

forest (Muthanga).

Table 10. Genera with 10 or more than 10 species and number of endemic species

Sl. No. Genus Number of species No. of endemic species 1. Impatiens 20 18

2. Syzygium 18 11

3. Oberonia 17 11

4. Strobilanthes 17 14

5. Crotalaria 16 5

6. Ficus 15 2

7. Ipomoea 15 2

8. Habenaria 13 10

9. Dendrobium 13 7

10. Desmodium 13 1

11. Cyperus 12 -

12. Leucas 12 4

13. Bulbophyllum 11 11

14. Ischaemum 11 3

15. Phyllanthus 11 3

16. Dioscorea 11 6

17. Eriocaulon 10 5

18. Dimeria 10 7

19. Pogostemon 10 5

20. Lindernia 10 1

21. Litsea 10 9

22. Ixora 10 6

23. Blumea 10 1

24. Solanum 10 -

25. Diospyros 10 6

Syzygium is the second largest genus in the study area with 18 species.

Among the 11 endemic species collected, 8 species are endemic to southern

Western Ghats. Syzygium stocksii and Syzygium travancoricum are two

critically endangered species collected during the present study (Hilton Taylor,

2000). Oberonia, an Old World genus of epiphytic orchids, is well represented

44

in the present study area and is the third largest genus, the details of which

have already been given under the account on Orchidaceae. Oberonia

wynadensis is endemic to Wayanad district and is found in evergreen forests

of Brahmagiri and Makkimala. Strobilanthes with 46 species in Western Ghats

is represented with 17 species in the study area. All the 17 species of this

shrubby monocarpic genus are seen well flourished in the evergreen forests of

Wayanad. Among the 14 endemic species 11, are endemic to southern

Western Ghats.

Rare, endemic and threatened plants

India being a tropical country is very rich in floristic diversity as well as

endemism and constitutes 8% of the global biodiversity (Ahmedullah & Nayar,

1986). This is one among the 12 mega-biodiversity countries of the world. The

country has about 17,000 species of flowering plants spread over in about

2,260 genera and over 304 families, comprising 6% of the known flowering

plant species of the world (Subramanyam & Nayar, 1974b). Among the 34

Biodiversity hotspots (CIF, 2004) identified, two are in India. These two hottest

hotspots having both species and ecosystem diversity in India are the

southern Western Ghats and eastern Himalayas harboring around 1500 and

1808 endemic flowering plant species respectively. In the Western Ghats,

southern Western Ghats consisting southern Karnataka, Kerala and part of

Tamil Nadu is considered as the most species-rich region with respect to

endemism. Even though Kerala represents a very small percentage of total

area of southern Western Ghats, the State is very rich in biodiversity and

possesses high rate of endemism. Nayar (1997) has reported that about 3800

species of flowering plants are occurring in Kerala of which 1272 are southern

Western Ghat endemics. The recent compilation of flowering plants of Kerala

(Sasidharan, 2004) revealed that there are 4679 species of flowering plants in

Kerala and represents 1637 endemic species of which 263 are reported to

occur only in Kerala.

Nayar (1997) recognized three hotspots of endemic centres in Kerala, viz.

Agasthyamala, Anamalai High Ranges and Silent Valley–Wayanad. Among

these hotspots of endemic centres, Wayanad comes under the “Silent Valley –

Wayanad” centre of endemism. The study reports a total of 596 endemic taxa

45

in 97 families forming nearly 29% of the total species (Figure 5). Among these

Indian endemics, 491 are endemic to Western Ghats. Three hundred and

thirty eight taxa of flowering plants collected from the district are endemic to

southern Western Ghats (18%), of which 59 are restricted to Kerala and 15

species exclusive to the study area (Figure 4). Orchidaceae (74) ranks first in

having maximum number of endemic species followed by Rubiaceae (42),

Poaceae (29), Acanthaceae (28), Fabaceae (27), Melastomataceae (22),

Lauraceae (20), Euphorbiaceae (20), Balsaminaceae (18) and Lamiaceae (16).

In India Rubiaceae ranks first in terms of number of endemic species, while in

Kerala and in Wayanad it is Orchidaceae. Out of the total endemic species

collected from the district 51% of the species are members of these ten families

(Figure 6) Orchidaceae hold the highest percentage of endemic species, (13%)

followed by Rubiaceae with 7% and Poaceae with 5%.

Figure 4. Number of Endemic taxa in Wayanad district

Among the 60 endemic genera reported from Western Ghats, 16 were

collected from Wayanad during the present study. It includes 3 endemic tree

genera, viz. Meteoromyrtus, Otonephalium and Poeciloneuron, of the 6 endemic

tree genera of Western Ghats. Some other important endemic genera

distributed in the study area are Ochreinauclea, Jerdonia, Diplocentrum,

46

Glyphochloa, Indobanalia and Anaphyllum. Jerdonia and Meteromyrtus are

exclusive endemic genera to the study area. Proteroceras, earlier considered as

a monotypic genus of southern Western Ghats is now treated as congeneric

with Pteroceras. Phlebophyllum, Nilgirianthus, Taeniandra and Xenacanthus

the splinter genera of Strobilanthes are now merged under it following the

wider concept of the genus. The genus Impatiens has maximum number of

endemic species (18), followed by Strobilanthes (14). Genera such as Syzygium,

Oberonia, Habenaria and Bulbophyllum are represented with 10 or more

endemic species (Table 11). Among these, Bulbophyllum is the genus in which

all the species are endemic, i.e. the genus showed 100 % of endemism. Out of

the 59 Kerala endemic species collected, 18 species are exclusively endemic to

Wayanad region of Western Ghats. Hedyotis wynaadensis, Oberonia wynadensis,

Sonerila wynaadensis, Ischaemum wayanadense, Nothopegia beddomie var.

wynaadica, Meteoromyrtus wynaadensis, Isachne henryi, Thottea sivarajanii,

Pogostemon peethapushpum, Jerdonia indica, Ixora sivarajiana, Syzygium

stocksii, Eugenia argentia, Leucas beddomei, Orophaea sivarajanii and the

recently described new species like Miliusa wynaadica. Miliusa gokhalae and

Oberonia swaminathanii are the exclusive endemic species of the study area. Figure 5. Relative abundance of endemic and non-endemic species in Wayanad

district

47

Table 11. Top ten genera in Wayanad with high percentage of endemism

Sl. No. Genus Number of

species No. of endemic

species % of

Endemism 1. Impatiens 20 18 90 %

2. Syzygium 18 11 61 %

3. Oberonia 17 11 65 %

4. Strobilanthes 17 14 83 %

5 Habenaria 13 10 78 %

6. Bulbophyllum 11 11 100 %

7. Dimeria 10 7 70 %

8. Litsea 10 9 90 %

9. Ixora 10 6 60 % 10. Diospyros 10 6 60 %

Figure 6. Relative abundance of endemic species in the top ten families of Wayanad district

Fabaceae5%

Other families49%

Euphorbiaceae3%

Lauraceae3%

Balsaminaceae3%

Lamiaceae3%

Poaceae5%

Rubiaceae7%

Orchidaceae13%

Acanthaceae5%

Melastomatace4%

There are 620 threatened species listed in the Red Data Book of Indian Plants

(Nayar & Sastry, 1987, 1988, 1990) out of which 550 species are endemics.

Major work on endemism and conservation status of the flora of India were

done by Subramanyam and Nayar (1974b), Joseph (1977), Henry et al. (1979),

48

Jain and Sastry (1984), Ahmedullah and Nayar (1986), Nayar and Sastry

(1987), Nayar (1996 & 1997), et al. IUCN (2003) published a detailed list of

plants of the world under various threat categories, including that of Indian

species. Nayar (1997) studied the endemism and threatened status of Kerala

plants and categorized them into different threatened groups such as Extinct,

Possibly Extinct, Rare & Threatened, Endangered, Vulnerable, Conservation

Dependent, and Indeterminate. Nayar has placed 483 species out of the 1272

endemic species reported from Kerala, under different threat categories.

In the present study, when the species were subjected to analysis of their

rarity and threats based on the available data (Nayar, 1997; IUCN, 2003), out

of the total 2034 taxa collected from the district, 138 are coming under

different threat categories (Figure 7). Among these species, 41% represented

the Rare (R) category, 18% Vulnerable (VU), 19% Endangered (EN), 8% Lower

Risk Near Threatened (LRNT), 7% Critically Endangered (CR), 3% Possibly

Extinct (PE), and 4% represented the Other Threatened (OT) category, which

are locally threatened (Annexure 1).

Figure 7. Rare and threatened species in Wayanad district and categories as per IUCN

Rare41%Lower Risk

Near Threatened

8%

Other Threatened

4%

Possibly Extinct

3%

Endangered19%

Vulnerable18%

Critically Endangered

7%

49

Of the total 137 threatened species of the study area, 125 are Western

Ghats endemics, which mean that 91% of the total threatened species in the

district are endemics. Again, 24.5 % of the total endemic species in the district

are threatened. Saraca asoca, Glycosmis macrocarpa, Impatiens acaulis, etc.

are some of the threatened species, which are not endemic to Western Ghats.

The evergreen forests and grasslands of Chembra-Vellarimala hill ranges,

Vythiri-Sughandhagiri forests, Kurichiarmala and Chanthanathodu harbor

more than 80% species of rare and threatened categories. Diversity of Rare,

Endemic, Endangered and Threatened plants is comparatively low in Wayanad

Wildlife Sanctuary forests. Possibly Extinct category species like Hedyotis

wynaadensis could seen only in Chembra peak-Vellarimala shola forests.

Narrow endemic and critically endangered species like Eugenia argentia, and

Meteoromyrtus wynaadensis were seen in three to four localities of

Kurichiarmala-Kunchome-Chanthanathodu evergreen forest patches of

Kalpetta and Periya forest ranges. Other critically endangered species like

Hopea erosa, Aglaia malabarica and Syzygium travancoricum were collected

only from evergreen forests of Vythiri. Endangered trees like Cynometra

beddomei, Cynometra travancorica and Kingiodendron pinnatum were also

collected from this area. Endangered and grassland species like Ipsea

malabarica, Garnotia puchiparensis and Habenaria barnesii were located only

in the grasslands of Chembra peak.

Plant taxa with “wynaadensis”/“wynaadica” etc. as specific epithet

It was noticed that Wayanad has a peculiarity in having twelve species, and

one variety named after the district’s name as ‘wynadensis’/’wynaadica’ etc.

The interesting fact is that the species like Hedyotis wynaadensis, Oberonia

wynadensis, Sonerila wynaadensis, Ischaemum wayanadense, Nothopegia

beddomie var. wynaadica, Meteoromyrtus wynaadensis, and finally the

recently described new taxa Miliusa wayanadica are reported to be occurring

only in Wayanad. The other species like Goniothalamus wynaadensis,

Symplocos wynadense, Osbeckia wynaadensis, Justicia wynaadensis,

Casearia wynadensis, and Tephrosia wynaadensis are having very limited

distribution outside Wayanad.

50

Rediscoveries and new distributional records

During the study, few species could be recollected after the type collections.

Eugenia argentea was thought to be extinct and was assigned the status,

“Possibly Extinct” (Nayar, 1997). It is a narrow endemic species of Wayanad

and not seen after the type collection made by Beddome in 1870s. During the

present study it could be recollected from its type locality after a lapse of 130

years and described. The grassland species Hedyotis wynaadensis, a high

altitude endemic shrub of Wayanad (Possibly Extinct- Nayar, 1997), could be

collected from the Chembra peak shola forests of the study area, which

confirmed its existence in the type locality after a lapse of more than 100

years. The Endangered shrub, Euonymus serratifolius was earlier known only

from its type locality, Idukki district, and the present study reported its

presence in Wayanad also. Ipsea malabarica, the endangered orchid that was

reportedly restricted to its type locality, Silent Valley, could be collected from

Chembra peak of Wayanad District. Eria tiagii, Memycylon sisparense,

Aponogeton appendiculatus, Bulbophyllum silentvalliensis, Orophea malabarica

are some other species, which were also known only from their type localities,

that could be collected from the study area. Species such as Zenkeria jainii,

Dimeria copiana, Dimeria idukkiensis, Pavetta travancorica, and Biophytum

congestiflorum were considered to be restricted to the Agasthyamala and

Anamala high ranges. Collection of these species from Wayanad district during

the present study shows their extended range of distribution.

New taxa described from Wayanad

Pristine forests in Wayanad are the treasure house of unique flora.

Exploration in this enigmatic biodiversity region resulted in the discovery of

three new taxa viz. Miliusa wayanadica. Miliusa gokhalae and Oberonia

swaminathanii. The genus Miliusa Lesch. ex A. DC. is currently recognized

with 40 species mostly of Austral-Asiatic with distribution ranging from India,

Sri Lanka and Bhutan to Australia through the Malayan islands (Mols &

Kessler, 2003). Ten species are reported from the Austro-Malesian area (Mols

& Kessler, 2003) and three species from Sri Lanka (Huber, 1985). In India the

51

genus is represented by 15 species distributed mainly in western and north-

eastern regions and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Mitra, 1993). Six species of

Miliusa are reported from Kerala (Sasidharan, 2007). Among the 15 species in

India, four species are endemic to Western Ghats (Mitra, 1993; Murugan et al.,

2004). By following Finet & Gagnepain (1906) Miliusa wayanadica belonging to

the section Miliusa due to one or two ovuled carpels and allied to Miliusa indica.

Small populations of this tree species were observed in Kurichiarmala of

Kalpetta Forest Range and Kalladi forest areas in Meppadi Forest Range. Miliusa

gokhalae allied to Miliusa eriocarpa and distributed towards the windward side

of Vythiri Ghats of Kalpetta Forest Range. The genus Oberonia comprises

about 300 species of epiphytic orchids all over the world. Major work on the

genus Oberonia was done by Gunnar Seidenfaden as he revised all the 85

species known in Mainland Asia in 1968. Oberonia swaminathanii is allied to

Oberonia balakrishnanii and Oberonia seidenfadeniana. Small populations of

this species were observed in Kurichiarmala of Kalpetta Forest Range.

Wild relatives of crop plants

Wayanad is well known in the world history as a main centre of spices and

their trade. With its unique location, climatic features and diverse habitats,

Wayanad harbours a very rich diversity of wild genetic resources of crop

plants. These species are categorized into cereals, pulses, fruit crops, vegetable

oilseeds, fiber crops, spices and condiments. Many species belonging to

Cucurbitaceae, Amaranthaceae, Solanaceae and Dioscoreaceae are wild

relatives of existing cultivars. Momordica dioica and Momordica subangulata

are close relatives of bittergourd. Trichosanthes cucumerina and Trichosanthes

nervifolia are closely related to the cultivated snakegourd. Luffa cylindrica is

the wild relative of smoothgourd. Some other plants related to cultivated fruits

and vegetables are Abelmoschus moschatus, Amaranthus viridis, Amaranthus

spinosus, Cajanus lineatus, Amorphophallus paeoniifolius var. paeoniifolius,

Colocasia esculenta, Dioscorea bulbifera, Artocarpus hirsutus, Artocarpus

gomezianus, Carissa inermis, Cucumis prophetarum, Solanum spp., Hibiscus

hispidissimus, Flacourtia montana, Garcinia cowa, Garcinia gummi-gutta, Vigna

vexillata, and Vigna radiata. Wild relatives of spices collected from the study

52

area are species of Piper, Amomum, Alpinia, Cinnamomum, Curcuma,

Heracleum, Myristica, and Zingiber. Seven species of Piper could be collected

during the present study. Piper trichostachyon and P. hymenophyllum with

longer spikes and bigger fruits are promising species for pepper breeding

experiments. All the species of the family Zingiberaceae are either medicinal or

relatives of cultivated plants. Myristica malabarica, a close relative of nutmeg

(Myristica fragrans) is a common endemic tree in the study area with large

fruits and brightly coloured aril. Eleusine indica, Oryza meyeriana and Oryza

rufipogon are some of the wild relatives of cereals collected from the district.

Species of orchid genera such as Vanda, Aerides, Rhynchostylis, Calanthe,

Cymbidium and Dendrobium are with great horticultural value because of their

showy flowers. Fibre yielding plants and their relatives of the families

Sterculiaceae, Tiliaceae, Malvaceae, and Fabaceae also occur in the district.

Fibre from Sterculia spp., and Helicteres isora are traditionally used by the

tribal people.

Non-endemics and exotics

The flora of India as a whole has been enriched by the intrusive elements

from other parts of Asia, Europe, Tropical Africa, Tropical America and

Australia (Mani, 1974). The indigenous non-endemic plants in the study area

constitute about 65% of the total species. A total of 91 taxa are introduced or

exotics. Majority of these species have very low density as they are planted in

office premises, along roadsides or in homestead gardens. The tropical Asiatic

elements of our flora have largely Indo-Chinese and Malayan affinities. Some

of the common examples are species of Goniothalamus, Gymnopetalum,

Haldinia, Knoxia, Lasianthus, Myristica, Hedyotis, Saraca and Uvaria. Some of

the Tropical African and Madagascarean elements found in this area are

Geissaspis cristata, Albizia lebbeck, A. amara, Canavalia mollis, Combretum

ovalifolium, Kalanchoe pinnata, Pseudarthria viscida and Ricinus communis.

American elements seen in the study area are Anacardium occidentale,

cultivated species of Annona, Capsicum, Hevea, Manihot, Ageratum conyzoides,

Alternanthera pungens, Crassocephalum crepidioides, Synedrella nodiflora,

Cassia occidentalis, Mimosa pudica, Passiflora foetida, Tridax procumbens,

53

Datura metal, Lantana camara, Hyptis suaveolens, Gomphrena decumbens,

and Peperomia pellucida. Most of these species are in fact, fast spreading

weeds. Australian elements found in the study area are species of Lindernia

and Scleria, Apluda mutica, etc. South American elements are Ipomoea

hederifolia, Ipomoea nil, Nicandra physalodes, Physalis peruviana, Mecardonia

procumbens, Scoparia dulcis, etc.

The flora of this region shows marked affinity with the flora of the Sri Lanka

in having a number of species common to both. Some of these are Myristica

dactyloides, Neurocalyx calycinus, Cayratia pedata, Filicium decipiens,

Gordonia obtusa, Gouania microcarpa, Harpullia arborea, Kydia calycina,

Meliosma simplicifolia, Pterocarpus marsupium, Sarcandra chloranthoides,

Tarenna asiatica, Thottea siliquosa and Vanda thwaitesii.

Some of the fast spreading aggressive weeds observed in the study area,

especially in the wildlife Sanctuary area are Parthenium hysterophorus,

Lantana camara, Ageratina adenophora, Mikania cordata, Mimosa diplotricha,

Chromolaena odorata and Bidens biternata.

54

ETHNOBOTANY

The pre-eminent position of plants among natural resources that satisfy the

primary needs of human beings cannot be over-emphasized. Despite the giant

strides in the field of science and technology, this dependence on plants even

as a direct source of food, medicine and a host of survival exigencies of humans has

only marginally reduced (FAO, 1989; Falconer, 1990). The trajectory of human

progress through the ages has witnessed, on the one hand the over-exploitation of

some plant species, and on the other the aided preservation, proliferation and

improvement of certain others (Swaminathan et al., 1992). The human effort

in the preservation of plant life and the drawing, in turn, of sustenance from

them gives rise to an intimate plant-human relationship. Knowledge of this

intimate relationship is the subject matter of ethnobotanic enquiry. It is a fact

that urbanization has resulted in the estrangement of a sizeable section of the

human population from their plant benefactors (McNeely et al., 1990).

However, rural agrarian communities and the tribal populations continue to lead

a life of relatively greater interdependence with their natural environment and

depend directly on plants and other natural resources for their various needs.

There are 434 flowering plants used by the tribal people of Wayanad of which

184 are of food use, 244 are of medicinal use (Mini & Sivadasan, 2007; Nisha

& Sivadasan, 2007), 7 species are used for extracting fibres and 68 plants are

recorded for other uses like fish poisoning, magico-religious (Pramod & Sivadasan,

2003), canes, resins and other Minor Forest Produces. Relative percentage of

various uses of plants by the tribal people of the study area is shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8. Relative percentage of usage of plants by the tribal and rural people of Wayanad district

Medicine48%

Other uses14%

Fibre1%

Food37%

55

Wild edible plants usage by indigenous communities of Wayanad

For many years, the importance of wild food plants in subsistence

agriculture in the developing world as a food supplement and as a means of

survival during times of drought and famine has been overlooked. Generally,

the consumption of such ‘wild food’ has been and still is being underestimated

and research, particularly concerning the socio-economic, cultural, traditional,

and nutritional aspects of wild-food plants still lacks adequate attention.

Further, there is little information on the distribution and the consumption

pattern of the wild foods of diverse communities in different landscapes. There

is a need to document, describe and publish information on wild foods to

enable specialized research on the nutritional values of these plants. This

potential resource can be discovered and improved so that one or the other

wild-food plant may become a future indigenous staple food crop that may

ease food insecurity. At the same time, an emphasis on the development of

wild food plants will help enhance and maintain biodiversity.

Accessing and consumption of wild edible plants by different communities

of Wayanad vary remarkably. The social values held by the community have a

significant bearing on the manner in which wild edible plants are conserved by

the community for food needs. The study looked at the knowledge of wild edible

plant species across the communities in selected areas. Usage and knowledge

of different parts of plants amongst the groups was studied. The Paniya

community possesses knowledge regarding 152 species/varieties of wild edible

plants, with Kattunaikkas coming next with knowledge of 105 species/varieties.

Amongst the tribal communities, the Kurumas are at the bottom of the

knowledge-ladder with an awareness of 48 kinds of wild edible plants, which is

still way above the knowledge amongst other socio-cultural groups (Table 12).

Table 12. Usage of plants and number of wild edible plant species/varieties used by different socio-cultural groups

No. of species/varieties used Wild edibles

Paniya Kuruma Kattunaikka Others Leafy greens 83 21 43 14

Tuber 19 12 25 7

Fruits and seeds 50 15 37 8

Total 152 48 105 29

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Usage pattern of leafy greens

Among the four socio-cultural groups studied, wild and weedy greens form

the most regularly used food supplement in the three tribal groups and are of

great dietary importance among the Paniya families. The study identified 102

wild edible greens, but only a few species are widely used (Annexure 2). The

household survey revealed that the Paniya families consume about 83 species

followed by the Kattunaikka who consume 43 species, the Kuruma consume

about 21 types of wild edible leaves and the settlers restrict themselves to 14

species of leafy greens. Most of these species are herbs (90%), and very few are

trees. An analysis of dependency on various landscapes for collecting these

plants shows that wayside and open areas provide the maximum species (28)

followed by thickets and forests (20 species), paddy fields and associated

ecosystems.

Among the frequently eaten greens are species like Ponnamkkanni

(Alternanthera sessilis), Mullencheera (Amaranthus spinosus), Kuppacheera

(Amaranthus viridis) and Mudungachappu (Solanum nigrum). Expectedly, these

species are available conveniently throughout the season near their

habitations and are readily accessible to women and children. One wild

species regularly eaten, which is strictly restricted to forest or evergreen

bushes is Maracheera (Embelia tsjeriam–cottam) but it is consumed only by the

Kattunaikka community.

Greens that fall in the category of less frequently eaten are used 2-3 times a

month based on their abundance, availability and accessible supply.

Aliyanchappu (Zehneria mysorensis), Kattuthakkali (Passiflora calcarata),

Kallurukki (Scoparia dulcis), Maracheera (Waltheria indica), Muthil (Centella

asiatica), Aalanchappu (Bidens biternata) and Kozhuppacheera (Trianthema

portulacastrum) fall under this category. Many of these species, except Bidens

biternata, Scoparia dulcis and Centella asiatica do not grow in abundance near

the habitations and are mostly found on the hills, often as weeds in the coffee

plantations. All the three tribal communities gather these and consume them

in combination with other wild food species. For example, Paniya women

prefer to cook Muthil (Centella asiatica) mixed with Kozhuppacheera

57

(Trianthema portulacastrum) and Kattuthakkali (Passiflora calcarata) with

crabs or fish. The greens, according to them, tastes better this way than when

cooked separately.

Species like Adenia hondala (Koombichappu), Ophioglossum reticulatum

(Nakkuneety), Momordica dioica and Momordica subangulata (Kattukaipa), and

Alternanthera bidentata (Kozhivalan) are greatly preferred, but their

consumption does not match the revealed preference. These species are seen

to be neither always readily available, nor easily accessible and are seasonal.

Species like Lycianthes laevis (Kattumudunga), Alternanthera bidentata

(Kozhivalan), Adenia hondala (Koombichappu) and Cryptocoryne retrospiralis

(Panchithalu) are rare in distribution and found only on hills and streamside.

Though the dishes made of these are well relished by all the members of

Paniya families, their collection is now restricted to the rare forays they make

to the interior forests in search of firewood or honey.

But several of the edible leafy species, in fact, a large majority of those

identified, are seldom consumed, despite their abundance, availability and

accessibility. Some of these are Cyathula prostrata (Cherukadaladi), Mukia

maderaspatana (Mukkapeera), Polygonum glabrum (Chorakam), Cleome viscosa

(Naikkaduku) and Bacopa monnieri (Brahmichappu). All these are species that

are available nearby, but are used only when the more preferred varieties

become scarce or inaccessible. The Paniya families, for instance, know over 60

such species but use them only during times like severe monsoon when there

is acute food scarcity. Some species are gathered specifically for pregnant or

lactating mothers for their medicinal properties. All the communities do know

their characteristics, palatability and nutritional benefits. But the values of

mainstream society have seeped in enough into the tribal community and even

the famed wild leaf eaters like the Paniyas today consider it below their dignity

to be seen gathering these species from the open areas.

The women of Paniya community have learnt to use even some of the

invasive species like Bidens biternata as greens. This plant is referred to by the

non-tribals as ‘Kandonekkuthy’, for its numerous persistent calyxes that latch

on to the passers-by when brushed against. However, the Paniya women have

58

named it ‘Aalanchappu’ in deference to its rejuvenating properties.

‘Aalanchappu’ literally means leaves that rejuvenate. It is remarkable that the

Paniya women have identified the rejuvenating properties of an invasive plant

that the common populace considers but a troublesome weed and are using it

as a delicious food supplement.

Compared to the Paniya, the Kattunaikka community uses less leafy greens

(43 species) and this can partly be attributed to their lower dependency on

agricultural and associated landscapes. However, they regularly include

several greens in their diet. Embelia tsjeriam-cottam (Marakkeera), Commelina

bengalensis (Kannisoppu) and Justicia nilgherrensis (Hattakheerai) are among

the greens regularly consumed by the community. Among the 102 wild greens

identified, 12 species are exclusively consumed by the Kattunaikka

community (Table 13). Most of these are pure forest species, which are not

generally accessed by the Paniya or Kuruma women. Many of these species are

highly seasonal and depend heavily on soil moisture for their growth.

Table 13. Plants used as vegetables exclusively by Kattunaikka

Local name Scientific name

Hallukkerai Allmania nodiflora

Kannisoppu Commelina bengalensis

Marakkeerai Embelia tsjeriam-cottam

Parippukkerai Chenopodium album

Thaivasoppu Pteridium aquilinum

Parippukkerai Phyllanthus urinaria

Palankeerai Ceropegia metziana

Kadukucheera Blumea barbata

Koovilisoppu Crotalaria laevigata

Hinnisan kaya Cattunaregam uliginosa

Hattakkeerai Justicia nilgherrensis

Among the three tribal communities, the Kuruma are the least

dependent on wild leafy greens for their food requirements. The reasons cited

for this reduced dependency range from low preference of the men and

59

children in the family to wild leafy greens in the diet, non-availability/ non-

accessibility, time constraints for collection and perceptions that accessing

wild greens for food reduces social prestige. Invariably, in all the Kuruma

households, there are home gardens, which are maintained well by women

and this may be another reason for their lower dependency on wild greens.

The usage pattern among the resource-poor settled communities like

Wayanadan Chetty, mixed communities from the Hindu, Christian and

Muslim shows that the frequency of use of wild greens is very little compared

to the tribal communities. The knowledge about edible wild greens among the

settler communities is also much less. The study revealed that while the

Wayanadan Chetty, predominantly an agricultural community knows 14 such

greens, the Muslim and Christian communities knew about 12 wild edible

greens and the other Hindu communities knew about 8 of them. Their

minimal dependency on wild greens has to do with the fact that they possess

fairly well maintained home gardens, and their relatively better economic

status provides them better market access. A concomitant reason, of course is

that it is considered below their social standing to eat wild greens, a habit only

associated with the tribal communities. The species diversity in the home

gardens maintained by the settler communities, it must be noted, does have a

direct bearing on their wild plant dependency. Interestingly, it is found that

once in an year, in the heavy monsoon month of July- August (Karkkidagam)

some women of the settler communities collect some wild greens like Solanum

nigrum (Mudungachappu), Achyranthes aspera (Vankadalady), Cassia tora

(Thakara), Colocasia esculenta (Thalu), etc. for preparing the medicinal gruel

‘Karkkidagakanchi’ and ‘Noyambukanchi’. This partly ritualistic and partly

rejuvenating regimen is now fast dying out, but for some efforts in recent years

by the advocates of traditional medicine to revive it. These wild greens are

cooked in combination with the home garden species during this month.

Tribal communities use resources in a variety of beneficial ways, not

restricting themselves to just the commonly used leaves. They adopt various

processing methods to make the edibles palatable. Tender petioles of Colocasia

esculenta (Vayalthalu) are harvested before the leaves unfold, it is then peeled,

boiled in tamarind water and kept smeared with turmeric powder/paste for a

60

while to remove its irritable raphides. Women patiently do such time-

consuming chores to make the wild food edible and tasty. Three types of

Colocasia from three different habitats are collected and their names are

associated with the habitat from where they are collected such as:

a. Vayalthalu/Kollithalu: Seen along the paddy fields (Vayal) and associated

with marshy areas; it has a light green coloured petiole. All parts of this

plant like rhizome, petiole, seeds and tender leaves are used.

b. Karathalu: Seen on waysides of wet areas with large-sized leaves. Its

itching property is more compared to other varieties and is treated with a

liberal dose of tamarind to make it edible. Its rhizome is not commonly

consumed.

c. Karinthalu: The petiole of this plant is red in colour and the plant is

mainly seen in the open area. This plant is regularly used because it has

more medicinal properties than other varieties. Rhizome of this plant is

not used because of its itching sting.

Thalu is believed to strengthen the bones and improve the immunity of

body. Young girls are fed on a diet of thalu during their menstrual periods to

improve their immunity.

Consumption of Fruits and Seeds

Fruits and seeds are an important group of edibles, which contribute to the

tribal communities’ nutritional requirements. Much of their vitamin and

mineral needs are met by this category of food. Information on 62 such fruits

and seeds (fruits 55, seeds 7) was collected during the study (Annexure 3).

Among the fruit yielding plants, 33 are trees, usually found in the forests and

hills. Fruit trees like Artocarpus heterophyllus (Plavu), Mangifera indica (Mavu),

Ficus racemosa (Athi) and Syzygium cumini (Njaval) are protected on waysides

and in the agricultural landscapes. The fruits of these trees (except Ficus) are

widely used by people across communities on a regular basis. Among the

tribal communities, the Paniyas are the largest consumers of various wild

fruits. There are about 50 species that are consumed by this community

alone, largely collected from forests, wooded hills or such unmanaged areas.

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The non-tribal communities restrict themselves to the fruits of jack, mango,

gooseberry and njaval trees, and generally avoid the lesser-known fruits from

the forests.

One of the important fruit-yielding plants managed mainly by the non-tribal

women is Cycas circinalis (Eenthu). This is a rare plant observed in the study

area, which is mainly conserved for edible seeds and ornamental leaves. A

number of dishes are prepared out of this fruit after thorough processing.

During the fruiting season women take special interest in collecting the seeds,

dry and store for future use. Emblica officinalis (Nellikka) is one of the most

widely collected wild fruits and it is an important source of income for

Kattunaikka families.

Kuruma women are rather selective in their choice of fruits. They accord

greater preference to mango and jack. Raw mangoes are widely collected to

prepare dishes like ‘Mangapuli’, which is used as souring agent for their

dishes. This can be stored for years-together with no deterioration in quality

without any preservatives. Women have specific knowledge about such

preparations and storage techniques.

Another important wild fruit collected for the market is Garcinia gummi-

gutta (Kudampuli). Women, children and youth can be seen engaged in door-

to-door marketing of this fruit, in towns and dwellings of plantation labour.

During the ripening time, men and women stay in the interior forest itself, for

the collection, processing and drying of Kudampuli, which is in great demand.

An important seed, which largely the Paniya and occasionally the

Kattunaikka use, is that of bamboo (Mulayari). During the flowering season of

bamboo, this is an important ingredient in their diet. Bamboo flowers very

rarely and at the onset of the flowering season the Paniya women start

preparations for the collection of seeds. Forest bamboo thrives in large

populations covering wide forest expanses. Women go to the bamboo brakes

before fruit-setting and clear the undergrowth and prepare a clean bed for the

seeds to fall. Sometimes, the people smear cow dung on the ground below

huge canopies signifying the value attached to this rare bonanza from the

forests. The collection may continue for days together and men and children

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join in gathering the seeds. Often the entire family stays amidst the bamboo

brakes through the flowering period. The collected grains are carefully stored

for future use, accentuated by the popular belief that a period of famine

follows the flowering of bamboo. Bamboo seeds are put to a variety of uses,

the most common being as gruel or to make the popular steamed pancake

‘puttu’ for the preparation of which the grains have to be coarsely ground.

Considered as highly nutritious and relished by every one in the family,

bamboo seeds are also sought after by the non-tribal communities.

Consumption of Tubers

Edible roots, tubers and rhizomes of more than twenty-five wild plant

species/varieties are eaten by the tribal and non-tribal communities in

Wayanad. Twelve species/varieties of Dioscorea, a major tuber plant known

are used (Annexure 4). These species are still a major source of food for forest-

based communities like Kattunaikka and these serve as a ‘life saving’ plant

group during periods of food scarcity. The communities who are dependent on

wild Dioscorea for their food classify each member of this genus, based on

characteristics like edibility, taste, colour, size, direction of growth, fiber

content, cooking properties and occasionally the proliferation underground.

Kattunaikka call these tubers as ‘Kalasu’ and they are knowledgeable about

12 species. Among the varieties known to them, Dioscorea hamiltonii

(Vennikalasu), D. belophylla (Hehkkukalasu), D. oppositifolia (Kavalakalasu) are

seen in interior evergreen and moist deciduous forests, and D. wightii

(Erakalasu) in rocky grasslands. D. pentaphylla (Noorakalasu, Nallanoora), D.

wallichii (Narakalasu), D. bulbifera (Hendiridaekalasu) are found in wayside-

bushes and D. pubera (Boojikavalakalasu) in marshy areas. The Kattunaikkas

collect Dioscorea from almost all these places, but more frequently from the

forests and other such unmanaged habitats. Among the different species of

Dioscorea, D. pentaphylla (Nallanoora) is the most commonly consumed tuber.

As the name indicates, ‘nalla’ means safe or good to eat. The tuber is single,

less fibrous and is powdery when cooked and tastes good. This variety is

common on the fringes of deciduous forests. D. oppositifolia (Kavala) is another

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very popular tuber among all the tribes of Wayanad. It is excellent in taste and

is commonly found in moist forests on which the Kattunaikka community

depends more. D. tomentosa (Salukalasu) is not consumed regularly due to its

high mucilaginous content, and is eaten only during times of acute famine.

Communities other than Kattunaikka keep away from this tuber as it has

peculiar kind of fibres that leave an itching sensation when consumed,

particularly on children.

The Paniya community, use roots and tubers of 19 plant species as their

food. As in the case of Kattunaikka, Dioscoreas (Kattukachil or Kattukizhangu)

form important source of their food. They consume nine kinds of Dioscorea

tubers, the most preferred being D. oppositifolia (Kavalakizhangu) and D.

pentaphylla (Noorakizhangu). They consider the Noorakizhangu and

Kavalakizhangu to be rich in ‘podi’ (starch) and ‘Kozhuppu’ (pulp) and the

Narakizhangu (D. wallichii) to be rich in ‘naru’ (fibre). Noora and Kavala do not

need any detoxification or pretreatment before cooking.

Kuruma, Wayanadan Chetty and other settler communities know only three

species of Dioscorea. Fifteen to twenty years ago, men of these communities

used to collect Kavala and Noora, but today wild tubers do not flavour their

diets. They consider it too tedious a job to search and dig out the tuber, being

otherwise engaged. They grow several tubers in their home gardens and these

are not too costly in the markets either. All the different

socio-cultural groups cultivate Dioscorea alata in their home garden. An

interesting fact is that in some parts of the district, Muslim, Hindu and

Christian women buy Kavala and Noorakizhangu from the Paniyas in

exchange for money or rice. Many of the youngsters of these communities are

totally ignorant about these tubers or their importance mainly because wild

Dioscorea are no more a part of their diet.

Among the various tubers, D. hamiltonii, D. oppositifolia and D. pentaphylla

are the most frequently consumed ones. The collected tubers are stored inside

the huts in the open. A wide range of methods is adopted for processing the

tubers. The tuber of D. hispida (Kottunoora) requires thorough processing

before consumption. The chopped tubers are wrapped in a white cloth and

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kept in running water in the streams for over 24 hours before being cooked.

This species is considered toxic and none of the other communities consume it.

After the tuber is dug out, the apical portion of it, along with the stem (vine)

is put back in the pit and filled with soil up to three-fourth levels for

regeneration. Another piece is placed in a small pit close by to confuse the wild

boars, which are in constant competition with the tribals for wild tubers.

Almost all the roots and tubers require processing to make it palatable.

Landscape dependency across different communities

An examination of the pattern of accessing wild food from various

landscapes by the different communities bears out the fact that the Paniya

community successfully explore all the landscapes ranging from forests to

grazing lands; but more from the habitats outside forest-thickets, plantations,

paddy fields, swamps, waysides and grazing lands/mountains while the

Kattunaikkas, on the other hand, forage mostly the forests, and the Kurumas

access the plantations and paddy fields. It is clear that the Paniyas access

almost all the landscapes for wild food and Kattunaikka have more access to

forests and rivers for wild food collection.

Implications of development and the changing scenario

In the last couple of decades rapid changes have had far reaching

implications on the food security of tribal communities. Some of the changes

have been brought due to changes in landscape but still others are due to

attitudinal and perception changes. Paddy fields of Wayanad have been a

veritable treasure-trove of a variety of leafy greens and a host of other wild

food, regularly accessed by the tribal communities, especially the Paniyas and

the Kurumas. Even today, the Paniya women know and use 19 plant species

from the paddy fields and its mud bunds. Conversion of this land for

cultivation of perennial crops or, as is the recent common practice, for banana

cultivation, limits the availability of these species. Studies, have shown that

the unscientific application of chemical pesticides, weedicides, fertilizers etc.

in the coffee, tea, cardamom and banana plantations, have considerably

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reduced the population of common edible greens. All open clearings like

waysides, grazing lands, new plantations and the fallow paddy fields are the

usual sites for green leaves collection. A variety of alien species are getting

naturalized rapidly now throng these locations and replaced the edible greens;

for example species such as Cassia tora, Alternanthera sessilis, Amaranthus

viridis, Amaranthus spinosus, Colocasia esculenta (Karathalu) etc. are edged

out by exotics like Lantana camara, Parthenium hysterophorus, Drymaria

cordata, etc.

Interestingly, some of these alien species, as mentioned earlier, are now

included in their collection of greens by the Paniya women. Bidens biternata

(Aalanchappu as the Paniyas have named it) has turned out to be a delicious

supplement in their food. This species, found as a weed in plantations, is now

sought to be controlled by the planters using strong weedicides! Bidens biternata

now flourishes in all the open landscapes, particularly in the human managed

ones like the coffee plantations. Among the communities studied, only the Paniya

women go for this species, but it underscores the fact that the ingenuity of the

tribal women is capable of discovering new edible plants to replenish their food

basket. It is also an assertion that “traditional knowledge” is dynamic, evolving

and ever changing, with both additions and deletions over time.

The larger society is by and large ignorant about the importance of wild food

as a cheap and nutritionally rich source of dietary material. The information

about the vast variety of wild food is not easily available to the larger society

and even the small groups of people from the mainstream society who forage

the wild for food out of economic deprivation are unaware of much of its

nutritional and health significance. The attitudes of communities which

traditionally utilised wild plant species as food is rapidly changing even

economically deprived communities like the Paniya seem to be losing interest

in going to the wild to collect plants for food. This is despite several incidents

of starvation deaths among the Paniya that are being reported. Many reasons

like lack of interest amongst the younger generation, unavailability of wild food

at convenient sites due to drastic change in landscape, restriction on

accessing, risk of consuming chemically polluted wild food, perception of

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feeling of lowering of prestige by depending on wild food rather than

purchased food, and displacement from original habitats leading to alienation

and changes in lifestyle are attributed to the decrease in using wild food.

Medicinal uses

In the past, the tribal people of the district were almost isolated from the

outside world and people were almost fully depending upon local herbal

remedies for their health problems. These people had considerable knowledge

about usage of plants, which they collect from different ecosystems. The tribal

communities have strong faith in folk medicine and are well versed with the

usage of plants through trial and error methods. The study revealed that 244

species of flowering plants in the district are used as medicine by different

socio-cultural groups. It includes many new plants of medicinal importance

and many new uses and modes of use. The medicinal application of these species

ranges from their use in simple ailment like headache to even cases of cancer.

Paniya community uses more than 46 flowering plants seen in and around

paddy fields for various medicinal purposes (Annexure 5). A total of 40 species

of angiosperms are used by Kurichya community for curing various ailments

in domestic animals. Kattunaikka and Paniya communities use 57 of the wild

edible species, especially leafy greens, not just as edibles but also for their

therapeutic properties (Annexure 6). Among these, 37 are herbaceous species.

They use leaves of 27 species, fruits of 18 species, petiole of 5 species and

tubers of 11 species as medicine. The medicinal uses of wild edible species

pertaining to women-related problems like white-discharge, abdominal pain

during menstrual periods, post-delivery related abdominal diseases, skin

diseases of newly born babies, etc. are known only to women. Women possess

knowledge related to reproductive health therapy with the aid of wild food and

such knowledge is transferred only among female members of the family.

Many of the multiple uses known to both men and women are for common

diseases like rheumatism, jaundice, breathing problems, etc. Socio-cultural

groups like Hindu, Muslim, and Kuruma use some plants like Thalu (Colocasia

esculenta), Thakara (Cassia tora) as vegetables only during special

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occasions/periods due to its medicinal property. Ehnobotanical studies among

Kurichya and Kuruma communities of the district revealed that they use

different parts of 58 plant species for curing gynecological problems. Of these

10 species are used only by Kurichya and 14 are used only by Kuruma. They

also use 73 plants for skin care, dental care and as antidote for poisonous

bites. All individual parts of plants such as root, stem, leaf, flower, bulb, rhizome,

etc. and in some cases whole plant is used as medicine. Kurichya, Kuruma

and Paniya communities alone use 106 plants in the paediatric practices.

Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFPs)

Wayanad has a large populations of plants yielding NWFPs and also of high

species diversity value. This could be partially attributed to the occurrence of

both deciduous and evergreen species in response to the prevailing favorable

microclimatic conditions. Tribal people of the district, especially the

Kattunaikka, Urali Kuruma, Adiya and Paniya living adjacent to forest have

been depending on these forest resources for their survival. They collect a wide

range of products to satisfy their own needs like food, medicine, fibre, manure,

fodder, thatching/roofing materials, cosmetics, etc. They harvest NWFPs

mainly for their own consumption and partly for market. A large number of

species are collected and traded in the market through Scheduled Tribe Co-

operative Marketing Federation and Vanasamrakshana Samithies (Forest

Department). In Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary area, marketing of minor forest

produce is a primary source of income for the Kattunaikka, a primitive hunter-

gatherer group, and Paniya. They collect around 40 NWFPs, mostly in the form

of fruits, seeds, leaves, young shoots, bark, roots and whole plants and rely on

the co-operative societies for marketing. Major NWFPs permitted to be

collected from Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary are Acacia sinuata, Phyllanthus

emblica, Solanum indicum, Piper nigrum, Sida rhombifolia, Entada rheedii,

Raphidophora pertusa, Jatropha curcas, Sterculia villosa, Strobilanthes ciliatus,

Desmodium velutinum, Curcuma zeodaria, Curcuma aromatica, Pseudarthria

viscida, Parmelia dialata (Lichen), and honey.

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Analysis of major 10 NWFPs marketed through the Kalloor Scheduled Tribe

Co-operative Marketing Federation, near Muthanga, over a period of 10 years

shows that Sida rhombifolia (35.3 %), Phyllanthus emblica (24.2 %) and

Solanum indicum (23.9%) together constitute 83.4 % of the traded NWFPs in

terms of quantity. Before the establishment of co-operative societies, the tribal

people collected more items and sold them to the private traders. But the

collection is now restricted to premium items by the societies because the

collection of other items is said to be unprofitable due to high wage cost and

low product demand. A large quantity of NWFPs is still illegally collected by

tribals and non-tribals and sold to the private traders. This often leads to

competition between groups for collecting the products, resulting in over

exploitation of some species.

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THREAT TO THE FLORA

The flowering plant diversity of Wayanad district is under severe threat due

to various man-made reasons like forest fragmentation, grassland conversion,

construction of dams, over grazing, over exploitation of forest resources,

habitation and cultivation inside the Wildlife Sanctuary, forest plantation,

conversion of paddy fields, unscientific application of chemicals, invasion of

alien species and forest encroachments. The western slope evergreen forests

and moist deciduous tracks along the state border on the eastern edge of

Wayanad are highly fragmented due to massive destruction of habitat. Due to

the yield of valuable timber, these forest had been extensively exploited and

consequently greatly disturbed. Most of the areas are now in secondary

succession. Major part of the high altitude grasslands in Kurichiarmala and

Banasuramala were converted in to Eucalyptus and Grewelia plantations by

the forest department. Construction of dams for irrigation and electricity has

also caused considerable damage to the vegetation. There are 2 dams in

Wayanad, viz. Karapuzha and Banasurasagar. Construction of dams,

especially Banasurasagar dam considerably damaged and submerged a vast

stretch of the evergreen forests. It was observed that grazing in the buffer

zones is a serious threat to the vegetation of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary.

Over-exploitation of forest resources, especially from the Wayanad Wildlife

Sanctuary is also causing severe damage due to the destructive collection

methods. Barks of several taxa of spices and medicinal value are extracted

quite often by cutting the trees. It was observed that collection of gooseberry

and other fruits are made by lopping the branches. Several trees of

Cinnamomum malabatrum, Persea macrantha, Canarium strictum, and

Symplocos microcarpa were found damaged due to the removal of bark.

Unsustainable and illegal collection of valuable medicinal plants like

Coscinium fenestratum, Pterospermum rubiginosum is also causing depletion of

species populations.

The most interesting feature of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is the large

number of settlements where cultivation is practiced. Southern Ranges have

80 settlements and 9 in Tholpetty Range. The main occupation of the people is

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agriculture and they cultivate cash crops such as coffee, pepper and coconut

followed by primary crops, viz. paddy, ginger, tapioca and plantains. These

people living in the vicinity of forests are depending on the forests for meeting

their requirements of firewood, small timber needs for house construction,

agricultural implements, and poles for supporting banana plants. Teak and

Ecucalyptus are most extensively raised as forest plantations in the district.

Saplings of Bambusa bambos are often planted along with teak. Bamboos have

been widely extracted from these forests since very long. Now sporadic

flowering occurs almost every year. The undergrowth of these forest

plantations in moist deciduous forests are predominantly exotic weeds like

Chromolaena odorata, and Lantana camara.

Paddy fields of Wayanad have been a veritable treasure-trove of a variety of

medicinal and wild edible greens, regularly accessed by the tribal

communities. Apart from greens, a number of taxa of high food and health

value such as fish, crustaceans like crab and snails were associated with this

agro-eco system. From an ecological view point, the paddy fields situated in

the low-lying areas of the undulating Wayanad terrain act as a trough

collecting and retaining a large quantity of water that is used by the flora and

fauna. Conversion of this land for cultivation of perennial crops or, as is the

recent common practice, for banana considerably damaged the floristic wealth.

Studies have shown that the unscientific application of chemical pesticides,

weedicides, fertilizers, etc. in the coffee, tea, cardamom and banana

plantations, have considerably reduced the herbaceous flora.

A variety of alien species are getting naturalized rapidly in Wayanad district.

The climate of the district is highly suitable for the fast growth of many of

these exotic species. Some of these have replaced the herbaceous flora,

especially edible greens; for example species such as Cassia tora,

Alternanthera sessilis, Amaranthus viridis, Amaranthus spinosus, Colocasia

esculenta (Karathalu) etc. are edged out by exotics like Lantana camara,

Parthenium hysterophorus or Drymaria cordata etc. Sizeable areas of

Muthanga sanctuary are now infested with Lantana camara and Chromolaena

odorata - two noxious exotics. They now thrive in the area, which has been

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clear-felled of Eucalyptus plantations. Interestingly, the Eucalyptus

plantations itself came in to being after pristine natural forests were cleared to

plant them as part of the social forestry scheme! Mikania cordata is another

troublesome weed now found in almost all the forest fringes in the district.

Mucuna pruriens, Parthenium hysterophorus, Bidens biternata, and several

species of Blumea are some of the quick growing alien species, which have

proliferated in different habitats in the study area.

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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

The floristic study of Wayanad district envisaged exploration and

documentation of the flowering plant diversity of Wayanad district. The thesis

is organised into introductory part and systematic part. In the introductory

part features of the study area, review of earlier work, methodology, salient

findings, floristic analysis and ethnobotany were given. The systematic part

taxonomically enumerates the taxa encountered from the study area.

Wayanad is a mid-level plateau, lies in the northwest corner of the Nilgiris.

Topographically the district can be divided in two parts, the Southwestern part

and the Northeastern part. From the highest altitude of the Western Ghats on

the southwest and western border of the district, the plateau of Wayanad

gradually slopes down towards northeast and eastward and merging

imperceptibly with the Mysore plateau. The forest area in the district is divided

into Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and Reserve Forests and is endowed with six

vegetation types, which support luxuriant growth of diverse plant groups. The

ethnic diversity of the district is also very impressive as evidenced by five

dominant tribal groups, and these are the communities who still hold

knowledge on biodiversity. The mid-level plateau of the district is the most

densely populated area and it covers a major part of the land. Most of the

natural vegetation of these areas has been replaced by coffee, tea, eucalyptus,

banana and rubber plantations.

The thesis is the result of the intensive exploratory studies carried out

during the period 2000-2005. Altogether, specimens with 4321 field numbers

were collected. The total number of 2034 species belonging to 903 genera and

171 families recorded from an area of 2031 square kilometer form nearly 49%

of the flora of the Kerala state (4679 taxa) and more than 10% of the flora of

India. Of the 2034 taxa, Dicotyledons are represented by 1521 species

belonging to 676 genera under 140 families, and Monocotyledons by 511

species belonging to 225 genera under 29 families. Gymnosperms are

represented by 2 taxa. The plants were classified according to Bentham and

Hooker’s system with necessary alterations. Keys have been provided for

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families, genera, species and intraspecific taxa. Illustrations and photographs

of selected rare and endemic taxa have been provided. The family Fabaceae

with 185 species in 68 genera is the largest family followed by Orchidaceae

with 165 species in 68 genera. Poaceae are the third largest family represented

in the district with 163 species in 65 genera. Among the 169 families, 43

families are represented by single species each. Of the 901 genera, there are

25 genera with 10 or more than 10 species in each.

Pristine forests in Wayanad are the treasure-house of unique flora and the

present floristic exploration in this enigmatic biodiversity region resulted in

the discovery of three new taxa, viz. Miliusa wayanadica, Miliusa gokhalae and

Oberonia swaminathanii. Two rare and endangered species, considered as

‘possibly extinct’, viz. Eugenia argentea and Hedyotis wynaadensis could be

recollected from their type localities after a lapse of 130 years. The study

reports a total of 596 endemic taxa in 97 families forming nearly 29% of the

total species. Among these Indian endemics, 491 are endemic to Western

Ghats. Three hundred and thirty eight taxa of flowering plants collected from

the district are endemic to southern Western Ghats (18 %), of which 59 are

restricted to Kerala and 15 species exclusive to the study area. Among the 60

endemic genera reported from Western Ghats, 16 were collected from

Wayanad during the present study. It includes 3 endemic tree genera, viz.

Meteoromyrtus, Otonephelium and Poeciloneuron, out of 6 endemic tree genera

of Western Ghats. Jerdonia and Meteoromyrtus are exclusive endemic genera

to the study area. It was revealed that 138 taxa are coming under different

threat categories and most of them are narrow endemics. It was observed that

Wayanad has a peculiarity in having eleven species, and one variety named

after the district’s name as wynadensis’/wynaadica’ etc. The interesting fact is

that the species like Hedyotis wynaadensis, Oberonia wynadensis, Sonerila

wynaadensis, Ischaemum wayanadense, Nothopegia beddomie var. wynadica,

Meteoromyrtus wayanaadensis, and finally the recently described new taxon

Miliusa wynaadica are reported to be occurring only in Wayanad.

With its unique location, climatic features and diverse habitats, Wayanad

harbors a very rich diversity of wild genetic resources of crop plants. There are

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434 flowering plants used by the tribal people of Wayanad and the indigenous

non-endemic plants in the study area constitute about 65% of the total

species.

The present study indicated that Wayanad is not only rich in its habitats

and habit-forms but also for the diverse life forms. The life forms include

peculiar plants such as saprophytes, insectivorous, parasites and semi-

parasites. The diverse habitat of the district supports a rich flora and fauna.

The evergreen forests and grasslands of Chembra-Vellarimala hill ranges,

Vythiri-Sughandhagiri forests, Kurichiarmala and Chanthanathodu harbor

more than 80% species of rare and threatened category. Diversity of Rare,

Endemic, Endangered and Threatened plants is comparatively low in Wayanad

wildlife Sanctuary forests. These areas are under severe threat due various

man-made reasons like forest fragmentation, grassland conversion,

construction of dams, over-grazing, over-exploitation of forest resources,

habitation and cultivation inside the wildlife Sanctuary, forest plantations,

conversion of paddy fields, unscientific application of chemicals, invasion of

alien species, and forest encroachment. All these facts indicate the immediate

need of implementing conservation measures to maintain the species diversity

which is our national heritage, and to save the valuable genetic resources for

judicious and sustainable utilization for the future generation.

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