Biodiversity is now the buzzword but not much information is available on Biodiversity in India. We would like to bring on record this Biodiversity in India in a series of edited volumes. The present volume is the first in this attempt. This volume includes six articles. The first one is on Biodiversity in general, while the second one is on Biodiversity in India. Relevant statistics have also been given. Dye yielding plants in India are dealt with in the third chapter. In this, Botanical name of the dye yielding plant, its family, vernacular names, brief description of the plant, its distribution, dye yielding part, colour of the dye are given. Wherever available, information on method of extraction and chemical structure of the dye have also been given. G.S. Rawla has given an account of Lactarius in India in chapter four. Gaikwad and Yadav have given an account of Eriocaulaceae in Maharashtra. In these two chapters citation, synonyms, description and distribution of the plant have been given. In the last chapter Vasudeva has given an ecological perspective of Fern Flora of Satpura hills.
Biodiversity in India, Volume 2, includes 5 articles. The first one by Mary and Vijayakoteswari is on the studies on Genetic variability in Dactyloctenium aegyptium. The second article by Vasudeva deals with Phytogeographical investigations on pteridophytic flora of Satpura Hills: An updated account, while the third, by the same author, is on Cytopalynological characteristics of Fern-allies of Satpura Hills. Subba Rao et al. have discussed the Genetic diversity in the genus Penisetum in chapter IV. The article by Gaikwad et al., which is quite exhaustive, deals with Aquatic flowering plant diversity of coastal plains of Konkan, Goa and Kanara. The articles are well supported by colour photographs.
The volume 5 of Biodiversity in India includes ten articles with main emphasis on medicinal plants and ethnobotany. For the first time we included of animal diversity. The first article is on Millipedes and their conservation. The next two articles are on medicinal plants against respiratory complaints and eye diseases. Ethnobotany of East Godavari district is given in Chapter 4, Anantapur district in Chapter 7 and Komaralad Mandal in Chapter 8. Medicinal uses of orchids is given in the following Chapter 5 and Green medicine of Tirupati - Kadapa - Nallamalai region in Chapter 6. A conspectus of the Tribe Eragrostidae in Andhra Pradesh is given in Chapter 9. The last Chapter deals with cultivated plants of Andhra Pradesh.
The Volume 6 of Biodiversity in India includes eight articles covering diverse subjects. First chapter is about one horned Rhinoceros conservation in Assam followed by the Amphibians in Western Ghats. These two areas constitute the Hot Spots of Biodiversity. Third chapters is on Floristic diversity of Nawarangpur district in Odisha. It is followed by pollination of some endangred Impatiens species in Western Ghats. Chapters 5 deals with Flora of North Andaman Islands followed by Bioresources of Nilgiris. The genus Cymbopogon in dealt with in Chapter 7 while the last chapter deals with wild edible plants used by the tribals in East Godavari district Andhra Pradesh. |
