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Original Article

, Volume: 12( 2)

Species Diversity and Enumeration of Various Plant Species in Medak Telangana State

*Correspondence:
Naresh K Department of Botany, University College of Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
Tel: 04027682444; E-mail: ksnaresh822@gmail.com

Received Date: April 10, 2017 Accepted Date: May 30, 2017 Published Date: June 5, 2017

Citation: Naresh K, Avinash kumar J, Venkateshwar C. Species Diversity and Enumeration of Various Plant Species in Medak Telangana State. Res Rev Biosci. 2017;12(2):119.

Abstract

Medak is one of the district of Telangana state which is known for its low nutrient soils, supporting growth of some of the inferior plant species in 2016(Feb)-2017 (Feb). In this research work vegetation found in the Medak district is being divided into two broad categories, that is forest vegetation and non- forest vegetation. The vegetation found in the field area was further divided into various groups depending on morphological characteristics shown by them. A vast exploration was conducted wherein the researchers have visited various areas to observe the versatility seen in the respective regions. It is been found that the field area is inhabited by various types of plants belonging to families like Leguminosae (104), Poaceae (83), Cyperaceae (49), Asteraceae (37), Euphorbiaceae (31), Acanthaceae (22), Rubiaceae (20), Lamiaceae (18), Convolvulaceae (17) and Amaranthaceae (15). During the studies, the predominant of the plant species observed belonged to Leguminosae family. This study can be further proceeded by doing a detailed analysis of the soil for its physicochemical characters which specifically supported the growth of Leguminosae members.

Keywords

Morphology; Vegetation; Plant collection; Medak; Enumeration; Medicinal plants

Introduction

Medak district forms part of the Table land of the Deccan plateau and is crossed by different ranges of hills. The ground is mostly of plains, gentle slopes and undulating hills. Isolated peaks and rocky clusters lie scattered all over the district. The elevation of the ground in the district is between 500 m to 600 m with occasional hills up to 638 m above Mean Sea Level. The hills that are of considerable size in the forest division are in a state of erosion because of reckless felling and indiscriminate grazing [1-5]. The rock formation in the district is of the oldest type (archaeon gneisses) and consists principally of peninsular granite complex i.e. pink and grey granites and their metamorphic variations. Minor inliers of Dharwar rocks occur as narrow bands in the granite and consist of horn blend schists, chlorite schists and banded or massive ferruginous quartzite. A few such exposures are seen due North and North-east of Siddipet. A part of the Sangareddy taluk in the south-west of the district is covered by the Deccan traps (Basalt Flows) formation. Building material, the granites found in the district yield large quantity of building stone and road-metal. There are numerous quartz veins cutting across the granite all over the district. Quartz useful for glass industry may be obtained from selected deposits. In the granite feldspars are colonized in some places giving rise to small deposits of white clay in the form of veins and pockets. The soils of the district are mainly red earths comprising loamy sands, sandy loams and sandy clay loams. Red laterite soil is predominant in Zaheerabad taluk. Black cotton soils comprising of clay loams, clays and silty clays are found in Sangareddy, Andole, Narayankhed and Narsapur taluks. The red soils are generally non-saline, non-alkaline while the black soils are moderately alkaline with high soluble salt content. The district is not watered by any big river. The Manjira, a tributary of the Godavari, is an important river. Manjira rises in Bidar district of Karnataka state and enters Medak district in the South-East. It flows for about 96 km in the western and North-Western taluks of Narayankhed, Zaheerabad, Sanga Reddy, Narsapur and Medak. The other important streams are the Haldi or Paspuyeru and the kudlair. Haldi is a tributary of the Manjira and enters the district from the North and flows through Medak town. The kudlair, which drains siddipet taluk, is another river in the district and forms a tributary of Mahai. The chief sources of irrigation in the district are the Bhanpur Ayacut the Rayanpalle project, the Gangakathwa project, the Beglempalli (Bogulapalle) project and the Peddavagu project. The undulating characters of the terrain of the district lend itself favourable to irrigation from canals, tanks, wells and streams. The climate of the district is characterized by a hot summer and generally dry weather with some pleasing showers, except during the south-west monsoon season. The year may be divided into three seasons, viz, winter season (November-February), summer season (March-May) and South-west monsoon season (June-October). The rainfall during the South-west monsoon months amounts to about 84% of the annual rainfall. July is the rainiest month. The average annual rainfall in the district is 896.7 mm. The heaviest rainfall in 24 hours recorded at any station in the district was 307.3 mm at Sangareddy in September, 1908 [6-12]. The rainfall in the district increases from the south towards North. After February, temperature rapidly increases. May is the hottest month with the mean daily maximum temperature of about 40°C and the mean daily minimum temperature of about 26°C. With the onset of the south-west monsoon in the middle of June, temperature decreases appreciably and the weather becomes more pleasant. December is the coldest month with mean daily maximum temperature at about 29°C and the mean daily minimum temperature of about 14°C. During the cold season, the temperature may go down to about 6°C.

Methods and Materials

The present work on Plant Diversity in Medak is based on intensive explorations by the authors during the year 2016-2017 and also on the critical analysis of collected specimens. In the present investigation, a total of 694 species belonging to 373 genera under 110 families have been included. A few exploration trips were conducted during different months of a year covering all ranges of the forests and non-forest areas in the Medak district. During field trips, every plant was collected in quadruplicates either with flowering or fruiting stage. Each collection of the individual specimen was labelled with field numbers and every attempt was made to study the habit, habitat, colour of the flower, flowering and fruiting season, frequency of distribution and relative abundance. All the above information was recorded in the field itself. Special care was taken for collecting aquatic species, bulbs, corms, tubers etc. [13-16].

Results and Discussion

Forests and vegetation

The vegetation of the district can be categorized into forest, non-forest and aquatic types.

Forest vegetation

The district forests are of Southern Tropical Dry deciduous type and account for 9.9% of the total geographical area. The forests as grouped into only one division i.e. Medak which includes 6 ranges (Table 1).

S.No. Name of the Division Name of the Range Area (in sq. kms)
1. Medak Siddipet 178.99
2. Medak Ramayampet 165.27
3. Medak Medak 250.47
4. Medak Narsapur 202.70
5. Medak Zaheerabad 91.12
6. Medak Narayankhed 71.54

Table 1. Forest ranges of Medak district.

The forests are further classified into dry mixed deciduous type, Dry deciduous type and Dry savannah type. Locally the forests are sub classified by the forest officials as teak type (teak over 40%), mixed teak type (Teak 10% to 30%) and mixed type (Teak less than 10%) depending on the abundance of teak in the forests.

Dry mixed deciduous forests

These types of forest are widespread throughout the district and are distributed in the forest blocks of Medak and Narsapur taluks (Tables 2-9). The compositions of these forests are as follows;

S. No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Albizia amara Mimosaceae Narlenga
2 Anogeissus latifolia Combretaceae Sirimanu
3 Bombax ceila Malvaceae Buruga
4 Boswellia serrata Bursaraceae Guggilam
5 Chloroxylon swietenia Rutaceae Billudu
6 Dalbergia paniculata Fabaceae Kondapachari
7 Disospyros melanoxylon Ebenaceae Tuniki
8 Givotia moluccana Euphorbiaceae Konda puniki
9 Hardwickia binata Ceasolpinaceae Yepi chettu
10 Lagerstroemia parviflora Lythraceae Chinangi
11 Lannea coromandelica Anacardiaceae Ajashrungi
12 Madhuca latifolia Sapotaceae Ippa
13 Morinda pubescens Maddi chettu Rubiaceae
14 Ougeinia oojeinesis Fabaceae Tella mothuku
15 Phyllanthus emblica Euphorbiaceae Usiri
13 Soymida febrifuga Meliaceae Somidi
17 Strychnos nux-vomica Loganiacaeae Vishamushti
18 Tectona grandis Verbenaceae Teku
19 Terminalia bellirica Combretaceae Karsha phalam
20 Terminalia paniculata Combretaceae Puta nallamaanu
21 Terminalia arjuna Combretaceae Tellamaddi

Table 2. List of large tree members (some Imp. examples).

S. No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Butea monosperma Fabaceae Moduga
2 Cassia fistula Ceasolpinaceae Rela
3 Cassine glauca Celastraceae Nirija
4 Cordia obliqua Boraginaceae Iriki
5 Dendrocalamus strictus Poaceae Pothuveduru
6 Gardenia gummifera Rubiaceae Cittamaali
7 G. Latifolia Rubiaceae Pedd karinga
8 Holarrhena pubescens Apocyanaceae Kondamalle
9 Limonia acidissima Rutaceae Velaga
10 Wrightia tinctoria Apocyanaceae Paalakurche

Table 3. List of tree members (some Imp. examples).

S. No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Alangium salvifolium Alangiaceae Udugu
2 Annona squamosa Annonaceae Seethaphal
3 Cassia auriculata Ceasalpinaceae Tangedu
4 Catunaregam spinnosa Rubiaceae Marrga
5 Combretum albidum combretaceae Geddepeyyuru
6 Dichristachys cinerea Mimosaceae Velthuru
7 Dodonae viscosa Sapindaceae Bandaru
8 Grewia hirsuta Teliaceae Cheema chipuru
9 Maytenus emarginata Celastraceae Chinni tuppa
10 Rhus mysorensis Anacardiaceae Sundari
11 Vitex negundo Verbenaceae Nalla vavili
  Ziziphus spp. Rhamnaceae Regu, pariki

Table 4. List of shrubs (some Imp. examples).

S. No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Arbus precatorius Fabaceae Gurivinda
2 Ampelocissus latifolia Vitaceae Adavi theega draksha
3 Aspidopterys cordata Malphigiaceae Bokadeval
4 Butea superba Fabaceae Theega moduga
5 Capparis zeylanica Capparidaceae Adonda
6 Cissampelo spareira Menispermaceae Chiru boddi
7 Cocculus hirsutus Menispermaceae Dusra theega
8 Derris scandens Fabaceae Chiruthali baadu
9 Dioscore apentaphylla Dioscoreaceae Adaviginusu theega
10 Gymnema sylvestre Asclepediaceae Podapathri
11 Ipomoea spp., Convovulaceae Lottapeece
12 Jasminum auriculatum Adavi malle Oleaceae
13 Olax scandens Olacaceae Turuka vepa
14 Ziziphus oenoplia Rhamnaceae Pariki

Table 5. List of climbers (some Imp. examples).

S. No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Acalypha indica Euphorbiaceae Muripenda
2 Aerva lanata Amaranthaceae Pindikura
3 Ageratum conyzoides Asteraceae Adavi pudina
4 Alysicarpus spp. Fabaceae Braramatal chettu
5 Biophytum sensitivum Oxalidaceae Jalapupa
6 cassia tora Ceasolpinaceae Pedda kasinda
7 crotalaria junceae Fabaceae Janumu
8 Curculigo orchioides Hypoxidaceae Bangaru gaddi
9 Desmodium gangtecum Plantaginaceae Deyyam jeda
10 Glinus oppositifolius Molluginaceae Chatuntharashi
11 Hibisus lobatus Malvaceae Atakanaara
12 Indigofera linnaei Fabaceae Yerra palleru
13 Polycarpaea corymbosa Caryophyllaceae Bommasaari
14 Pulicaria wightiana Asteraceae Adavi chamanthi
15 Triumfetta rhomboidea Teliaceae Banka tuttura

Table 6. List of shrubs (some Imp. examples).

S. No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Aristida adscensionis Poaceae Nalla putiki
2 Cymbopogon citratus Poaceae Nimma gaddi
3 Dichanthium annulatum Poaceae Needa gaddi
4 Eragrostis unioloides Poaceae Udara gaddi
5 Heteropogon contortus Poaceae Nalla ete gaddi

Table 7. List of grasses (some Imp. examples).

S. No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Cassytha filiformis Lauraceae Akaashavalli
2 Cuscuta reflexa Convilvulaceae Seethamma pogunaalu
3 Dendrophthoe falcata Loranthaceae Jeevakam
4 Scurrula parasitica Loranthaceae Pullurivi
5 Striga asiatica Scropulariaceae Rathi badamika

Table 8. List of parasites (some Imp. examples).

S.No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Actinopteris radiate Pteridaceae Nemali adugu
2 Marseliaqua drifolia Marseliaceae Marsilia

Table 9. List of Pteridophytes (some imp. examples)

Dry deciduous scrub forests

Scrub forests are mostly distributed in cornet blocks of Siddipet, Zaheerabad and Narayankhed ranges. Scrub vegetation is characterised by the predominance of the list of plants mentioned in Table 10.

S.No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Annona squamosa Annonaceae Seethaphal
2 Capparis zeylanica Capparidaceae Adonda
3 Cassia auriculata Ceasalpinaceae Tangedu
4 C. Occidentalis Ceasalpinaceae Adavitangedu
5 Diospyros melanoxylon Ebenaceae Tuniki
6 Gymnosporia spinnosa Celastraceae Dante chettu
7 Lantana camara Verbenaceae Sisakammari
8 Phoenix loureiri Arecaceae Eetha chettu

Table 10. List of dry deciduous scrub forest members (some Imp. examples).

Dry savannah forests

These types of forests are distributed in patches in the outer edges of the forest blocks and usually found in Siddipet, Narayankhed and Zaheerabad ranges and parts of Ramayampet and Narsapur. The trees stand far apart singly or in small groups along with more or less heavy grass growth in which certain fire-resistant plants persist, of which stemless phoenix that is Phoenix loureiri is one among many found. Other common species encountered in these forests include Cassia auriculata, Dodonea angustifalia and Lantana camara [17-20].

Non-Forest Vegetation

Waste land and road side plants

The list of waste land and road side plants are mentioned in Tables 11-13.

S. No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Acalypha indica Euphorbiaceae Muripenda
2 Acanthospermum hispidum Asteraceae Palleru
3 Achyranthes aspera Amaranthaceae Uttareni
4 Amaranthus tricolor Amaranthaceae Thotakura
5 Boerhavia diffusa Nyctaginaceae Punarnava
6 calotropis gigantea Asclepediaceae Tella jilledu
7 C. procera Asclepediaceae Nalla jilledu
8 Cassia auriculata Ceasolpinceae Tangedu
9 C. Occidentalis Ceasolpinceae Adavi tangedu
10 Cleome viscosa Cleomaceae Kukka vaminta
11 Corchorus aestuans Teliacaeae Parinta
12 Croton bonplandianum Euphorbiaceae Ban tulsi
13 Datura innoxia Solanaceae Nalla ummetha
14 Echinops echinatus Asteraceae Brahmadandi
15 Euphorbia hitra Euphorbiaceae Nanabaalu
16 Evolvulus alsinoides Convolvulaceae Vishnukantha
17 Impatiens balsamina Balsaminaceae Chiluka mukku puvvu
18 Indigofera cordifolia Fabaceae Papara alam
19 Jatropha gossypifolia Euphorbiaceae Adavi amudam
20 Parthenium hysterophorus Asteracaeae Vayyari bama
21 Solanum surattense Solanaceae Ramulka
22 sida cordata Malvaceae Gayapaku
23 Tamarindus indica Meliaceae Vepa chettu
24 Tephrosia purpurea Fabaceae Vempali
25 Tridax procumbens Asteraceae Gaddi chamanthi
26 Vernonia cinerea Asteraceae Sahadevi

Table 11. List of waste land and road side plants (some Imp. examples).

S. No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Azadirachta indica Meliaceae Vepa chettu
2 Cassia roxburghil Ceasolpinaceae Erra tangedu
3 Delonix regia Ceasolpinaceae Aggi chettu
4 Ficus benghalensis Moraceae Marrhi
5 Mangifera indica Anacardiaceae Mamidi
6 Pongamia pinnata Fabaceae Kanuga
7 Tamarindus indica Solanaceae Chintha chettu

Table 12. List of some of the important plants growing in towns and villages.

S. No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Abutilon indicum Malvaceae Botla benda
2 Caesalpinia bonduc Ceasolpinaceae Gachakai
3 Cascabela thevetia Apocyanaceae Pacha ganneru
4 Catunaregam spinosa Rubiaceae Marrga
5 Clerodendrum inerme Verbenaceae Takkola chettu
6 Grewia hirsute Teliaceae Cheema chipuru
7 Lawsonia inermis Lythraceae Mydaku
8 Parkinsonia aculeate Fabaceae Seema thumma

Table 13. List of some of the important Hedges.

Common weeds of dry and cultivated fields and dry irrigated fields are listed in Tables 14 and 15.

S. No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Cissampelo spareira Menispermaceae Velvet theega
2 Cocculus hirsutus, Menispermaceae Dusra theega
3 Derris scandens, Fabaceae Chiruthali baadu
4 Pergularia daemia, Asclepediaceae Gutu gudu
5 Tinospora cordifolia, Menispermaceae Tippa theega
6 Tylophora indica Menispermaceae Mekameyani theega

Table 14. Chief climbers seen in hedges are.

S. No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Acalypha indica Euphorbiaceae Muripenda
2 Ageratum conyzoides Asteraceae Adavi pudina
3 Alysicarpus rugosus Fabaceae Baramataal
4 Amaranthus, spinosus Amaranthaceae Thotakura
5 Argemone Mexicana Papavaraceae Brahmadandi
6 Celosia argentea Amaranthaceae Gunugu
7 Cleome gynandra Cleomaceae Kukka vaminta
8 Chenopodium album Amaranthaceae Pappu kura
9 Corchorus aestuans Teliaceae Parinta
10 Crotalaria junceae Fabaceae Janumu
11 Crotalari retusa Fabaceae Pottigilligicha
12 Cynodon dactylon Poaceae Garika gaddi
13 Cyperus rotundus Poaceae Thunga
14 Desmodium triflorum Fabaceae Fabaceae
15 Digera muricata Amaranthaceae Chenchali chettu
16 Euphorbia geniculate Euphorbiaceae Tilakada
17 E. Hiirta Euphorbiaceae Nanabalu
18 Justicia spp., Acanthaceae Addasaram
19 Leucas aspera Lamiaceae Thummi kura
20 Merremia emarginata Convolvulaceae Elika jemudu
21 Parthenium hysterophorus Asteraceae Vayyari bama
22 phylanthus amarus Euphorbiaceae Nela usiri
23 Physalis minima Solanaceae Kupanti
24 Portulaca oleracea Portulacaceae Gangamili kura
25 Rorippa indica Brassicaceae Aaku mullangi
26 Sphaeranthus indicus Asteraceae Boddatarapu
27 Trianthema portulacastrum Aizoaceae Ambati madu
28 Vigna spp., Fabaceae Pesara
29 Echinochioa colona Poaceae Taidalu
30 Polygonum barbatum Polygonaceae Konda malle

Table 15. List of weeds (some Imp. examples).

These plants are rooted in the soil saturated with water, but also survive in dried conditions in the later part of their life cycle (Table 16).

S. No Botanical Name Family Vernacular Name
1 Ageratum conyzoides Asteraceae Adavi pudina
2 Bacopa monnieri scropulariaceae Brahmi
3 Caesulia axillaris Asteraceae Erragobbi
4 Centella asiatica Apiaceae Saraswathaaku
5 Commelina spp., Commiliniaceae Ennoddula gaddi
6 Cyperus spp., Poaceae  Thunga
7 Eclipta prostrate Asteraceae Gunta galagara
8 Hygrophila aurciculata Acanthaceae Enugu palleru
9 Ipomoea carnea Convolvulaceae Lottapeece
10 Lobelia nicotianfolia Companulaceae Adavi pogaku
11 Ludwigia perennis Onagraceae Lavanga kaaya
12 Phyla nodiflora Bokkena verbenaceae

Table 16. List of wetland hydrophytes (some Imp. examples).

Apart from the species encountered in above vegetation types, number of plants are under cultivation in the district. They are appended at the end of concerned family in the systematic enumeration.

Floristic analysis

In the present study, a total of 862 numbers of fields have been collected and identified. These comprise 694 wild and naturalized species belonging to 373 genera and 110 families. Among the 694 species Dicots comprise 513 species, Monocots 177 species and Pteridophytes 4. The results are shown below in tabulated manner. The ratio of Monocotyledons to Dicotyledons is 1: 4.47 of families (19:87), 1:3.40 of genera (91:278); 1:2.91of species (177:513). The ratio of genera to species in the present study is 1:1.7, whereas for the entire Indian region it is 1:7 (Table 17).

S.No. Name of the Family No. of Species
1 Leguminaceae 104
2 Poaceae 83
3 Cyperaceae 49
4 Asteraceae 37
5 Euphorbiaceae 31
6 Acanthaceae 22
7 Rubiaceae 20
8 Lamiaceae 18
9 Convolvulaceae 17
10 Amaranthaceae 15

Table 17. Dominant ten family?s in Medak district, Telangana state.

The genera having 5 or more than 5 species are Cyoerus and Eragrostis with 12 species followed by Crotalaria and Fimbristylis (11); Indigofera (10); Cassia and Ipomoea (09); Desmodium, Euphorbia, Phyllanthus and schoenoplectus (07); Acacia, Alysicarpus, Ficus, Hedyotis, Heliotropium, Justicia and Leucas (06); Commelina and Grewia.

Conclusion

As it is been already mentioned about the nutritive value of the soil supported growth of inferior varieties of plants and it is also been seen that the varieties found were limited when compared with other areas.

Acknowledgement

I would like to thank the funding agency that is UGC – CAS-I (SAP-II) for its timely support. It is a privilege to work under the guidance of my co-ordinator Prof. C. Venkateshwar, Department of botany, Osmania University who have been a guiding and motivating spirit for doing my work effectively. I would render my special thanks to the Department of Botany, Osmania University for providing space to assimilate the work in written form.

References

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