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In this article we will discuss about the cradle of flowering plants in India.
The studies on Indian plants were first initiated by European visitors, endrik Van Rheede (1678-1703) Published 12 volumes of Hortus Malabaricus. Even before the publication of Species plantarum by Linnaeus (1753).
Work on Indian flora was initiated by Roxburgh (1814, 1820-24) and then Hooker and Thompson (1855). Sir J. D. Hooker (1872-1897) published Flora of British India and stimulated the taxonomic studies for several regional and state flora.
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In 1954 Botanical Survey of India revived the intensive study of local flora and gathered information on identity, diversity, distribution, ecological association, phenology, economic use including medicinal use of plants.
India has varied physical environment, latitude, altitude, geology and climate. The variation in climate and altitude, ecological habitat etc. contributes in development of immensely rich vegetation, varied flora and fauna making India a unique biodiversity.
Hooker (1904) said. “The Indian flora is more varied than that of any other country of equal area in the Eastern Hemisphere if not on the globe”. The Indian flora represents taxa occurring in different countries including Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and some European countries like Africa, America, Australia etc.
According to Kenrick, 1999, Angiosperm (Magnoliophyta or Anthophyta) are the most diverse group of plant kingdom. It comprises of approximately 2,50,000 species belonging to 350 families.
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Angiosperms are characterized by:
a. Seed produced in a carpel with stigmatic germination of pollen grains.
b. A much reduced gametophyte consisting of generally eight nuclei and seven cells.
c. Double fertilization leading to a typically triploid nutritive tissue called endosperm.
Angiosperms are distinguished from all other land plants:
a. Flower usually associated with perianth.
b. Stamen with two lateral thecae, each composed of two microsporangia
c. A reduced 3-nucleate male gametophyte
d. Carpel and fruit formation.
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e. Ovules with mostly two integuments
f. Reduced, 8-nucleate female gametophyte
g. Endosperm formation.
h. Sieve tube members present.
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Some of these apomorphic features representing the product of a unique evolutionary event are modified in particular lineage of angiosperms. Angiosperms produce vessels in xylem tissue and sieve tube elements accompanied by one or more companion cells in phloem derived from the same mother cell.
We can find the angiosperms in almost all habitable regions of the world. The number may be more in terrestrial ecosystem as compared to aquatic. A great chunk of our economically important plants come from angiosperms e.g., food plants or food crops.
India with a geographical area of about 32,87263 sq km. is the seventh largest and tenth industrialized country of the world. It is situated between 804’N to 3706’N Latitude and 6807’E to 97025’E Longitude.
The longitudinal variation divides Indian subcontinent into 4 climatotogical zones i.e. equatorial tropical, subtropical warm and temperate. The forest cover is approximately 6,37,293 sq km. or 19.39% the geographic area including dense forests, open forests and mangroves.
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India represents about 11 percent of world’s flora in just about 2.4 percent of the total land mass.
India has only two main hot spots out of 25 biodiversity hot spots i.e. Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats possessing majority of plant diversity in India. Out of 17,500 species of a angiosperms 5725 species are endemic to India. 28 percent of the total Indian flora and about 33 percent of angiosperms of India are endemic. About 10 percent of flowering plant species in India are reported to be extinct.
Biogeographical territories of the world:
Indian region shows most diverse biogeographic regions of the world ranging from permanently snow covered high Himalayan ranges to the plains at sea level and low lying swamps and Mangroves, Islands, tropical evergreen rain forests, fertile alluvial plains, hot deserts and high altitude cold deserts.
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The climate range is from tropical to subtropical in Indo-gangetic plains and in peninsular region to temperate and arctic in the Himalayan region. India represents two of the major realms i.e. Palaearctic and Indo-Malayan and their biomass.
The country is divided into ten botanical regions with distinct bioclimatic conditions e.g. Coromandal Coast, Malabar, Indus plain, Indian desert, Gangetic plain, Assam, Eastern Himalaya, Central Himalaya, Western Himalaya, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshdweep and Minicoy group of islands.
Major mountain ranges in India are the Himalaya and Western Ghats. Biogerographically, the Indian Himalayan region falls upon Boreal zone with two sub-zones viz-1, Sino- Siberian and Sino Himalayan.
Longitudinally this area is divided into four distinct zones:
1. Siwalik. (900-1500 m)
2. Outer Himalaya. (1500-3500 m)
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3. Middle Himalaya. (3600-4600 m).
4. Greater Himalaya (above 4600 m).
Complex mountain system consists of narrow and deep valleys, glaciers and fertile terrain.
There are five climatic zones in Himalayan region:
1. Warm tropical,
2. Warm sub tropical,
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3. Cool temperate,
4. Alpine, and
5. Arctic.
According to Udvardy (1975), biodiversity exists on earth in 8 broad realms with 193 biogeographical provinces. World’s 12 countries together hold 70 percent of its plant diversity.
These are Australia, Brazil, China, Columbia, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Medagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru and Zaire. These twelve countries are known as Megadiversity countries. Chowdhary and Murti in 2000 recognised 11 phytogeographic regions in India with unique ecosystem, vegetation and floristic composition.
These are:
1. Western Himalaya,
2. Eastern Himalaya,
3. Gangetic plain,
4. North-east India,
5. Semi arid and Arid region,
6. Deccan plateau,
7. Western Ghats,
8. Eastern Ghats,
9. Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
10. Lakshdweep, and
11. Coastal Regions.
Distribution of Angiosperms in India:
Vascular plants form the most dominant and conspicuous vegetation cover comprising of over 17,500 sp. of angiosperms representing more than 7 percent of worlds known flowering plant species distributed in more than 4000 genera present in different ecosystems from the humid tropics of Western ghats to Alpine zones, from Mangroves of tidal Sunderban to dry deserts of Rajasthan.
Among the 17,500 species of flowering plants 12,750 species representing 2,282 genera of dicots and 4,250 species representing 702 genera of monocots. Out of 511 recognized plant families, 320 families with more than 4000 genera are represented is Indian flora.
Poaceae is the largest with 263 genera and 1200 species. Over 60 families are monotypic, Approximately 15 percent species are trees including high value timber plants belonging to Annonaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Fabaceae, Moraceae, Meliaceae, Verbenaceae etc.
There are some genera which exhibit remarkable diversity e.g.:
1. Balanophora dioica,
2. Boschiniackia himalaica,
3. Epipogium,
4. Galeola,
5. Drosera,
6. Monotropa,
7. Nepenthes khasiana,
8. Mitrastemon yamamotoi,
9. Utricularia,
10. Pinguicula, and
11. Sapria himilayana.
Certain groups like Dominant angiospermic families in India are:
1. Orchid,
2. Bamboo,
3. Citrus,
4. Hedychium,
5. Impateins,
6. Primula,
7. Pedicularis, and
8. Rhododendron etc.
Dominant angiospermic families in India are:
Dicots:
Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Rubiaceae, Acanthaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae Apiaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Asclepiadaceae and Brassicaceae etc.
Monocots:
Poaceae, Orchidaceae, Liliaceae, Cyperaceae, Araceae, Zingiberaceae and Arecaceae etc.
Insectivorous and Parasitic plants:
450 species of insectivorous plants are present all over the world among which only 30 species are found is India belonging to family. Droseraceae, Nepenthaceae and Lentibulariaceae. However the parasitic plants mainly belong to Loranthaceae, Balanophoraceae, Santalaceae, Cuscutaceae, Orobanchaceae and Rafflesiaceae.
Aquatic plants:
About two percent of all flowering plants are of aquatic flowering plants. They mainly belong to families like—Alismataceae, Aponogetonaceae, Butomaceae, Cabombaceae, Lemnaceae, Najadaceae, Pantederiaceae, Ceratophyllaceae, Hydrocharitaceae, Potamogetonaceae, Trapaceae, Thyphaceae etc.
The members of families Podostemaceae and Tristichaceae grow on rocks under water in fast flowing streams. The aquatic plants may be free floating (Eichhornia, Lemna, Trapa, Pistia, Wolfia etc.), rooted aquatic with floating foliage (Nymphaea, Euryale, Nelumbo), Submerged aquatics (Vallisnaria, HycLrilla, Potamogeton), emergent aquatic (Scirpus, Cyperus, Sagittaria) and marsh plants (Ranunculus, Panicum, Polygonum,) etc.
The aquatic flora play an important role as water purifier by absorbing heavy metals e.g. Ceratophylum (Chromium), Bacopa (Copper and Cadmium). Limosella aquatica, Hippuris vulgaris occurs in subalpine-alpine lakes.
Mangroves:
Mangrove plants inhabit coastal regions and estuaries. They survive under marshy conditions. In India, mangroves cover an area of approximately 6700 km which constitutes 7 percent of the world’s mangroves. Largest mangrove region is in Sunderbans is West Bengal.
It has been designated as world Heritage site of which 80 percent of these are restricted to Sunderbans and Andaman and Nicobar islands. Remaining Mangroves are in coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil- nadu, Orissa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Karnataka.
Some mangrove species are Bruguiea, Gymnorrhiza, Avicennia officinalis, Ceriops tagal, Heritiera fomes, Lumnitzera sp., Rhizophora mucronata, Sonneratia sp. Xylocarpus sp. etc. Aegialitis rotundifolia and Acanthus ilicifolius are common shrubby plants in poor saline plains. Aegiceras sp., Suaeda brachiate and Salicornia brachiata etc. are herbaceous succulent halophytes. Nypa fruiticans and Phoenix paludosa are mangrove palms.
Indicator species:
There are certain species of angiosperms which grow on metalliferous soils and act as indicator e.g. presence of copper is indicated by Astragalus, Croton, roxburghii, Hyptis. Holarrhena pubescans, Impatiens balsamina, Veronica cinerea etc. indicate presence of uranium.
Diversification of Primitive and Advanced Families:
The primitive families are mostly confined to those regions which are very old in geological time scale in comparison to the newly developed areas. The older phytogeographical regions of India are Assam, North east India, Deccan Peninsula etc. These regions are more or less identical in age with Sri Lanka, South West China and Malaya Peninsula.
North east India shows its floristic relationship with Myanmar, South West China and Malaya Peninsula. India is considered as a sanctuary of primitive flowering plants. The occurence of such a large number of primitive angiosperms led Takhtajan (1969) to designate this region as the ‘Cradle of flowering plants’.
Primitive flowering plants in India:
The advance families are generally present in comparatively younger areas on geological time scale. Himalayan region of India is supposed to be much younger than deccan Peninsula and North East India, as it harbours most of the advanced families.
The advanced families are confined to the areas geologically young and do not spread while the primitive families are older in age and occur in geologically older areas but spread over a larger area.
Comparative Account of Diversification of Advanced and Primitive Families:
Advanced families:
Apiaceae — 10 genera — 42 species
Asteraceae — 12 genera — 92 species
Fabaceae —11 genera — 17 species
Lamiaceae — 11 genera — 22 species
Orchidaceae — 27 genera — 83 species
Poaceae — 17 genera — 40 species
Rubiaceae — 19 genera — 58 species
Primitive families:
Annonaceae — 3 genera — 16 species
Circaeasleraceae — one genera — one species
Hamamelidaceae — Two genera — Three species
Magnoliaceae — One genera — Two species
Menispermaceae — Four genera — Five species
Ranunculaceae — Four genera — Six species
Habitats:
India is rich in different ecological habitats e.g. tropical rainforests, subtropical savannas or shrub lands, temperate forests, alpine mosses and xerophytic deserts. It may vary from humid tropical western ghats to hot deserts of Rajasthan, From cold desert of Ladakh to warm coast line stretches of Peninsular India.
The wettest places of India are Cherapunji and Mawphlong in Meghalaya and Dras in Ladakh is coldest. Phytogeographically the eastern Himalayas form a different floristie region.
The area includes Nepal, Bhutan, some northern states of India along a continuous sector in south West China. In this area Nepal includes 7000 species many of which are common to India, Bhutan and Yunan (S.W. China) only 8 percent of the species is endemic to Nepal upto 15 percent of the species are endemic to Eastern Himalaya.
This region is the meeting place of Indo-Malayan, Afro-tropic and Indo China. Biogeographical realms. The Himalayan and Peninsular Indian elements formed when the peninsular plate struck against the Asian land mass after separating from Gondwana land. This region is recognized as refugium of flowering plants and center of active speciation.
Some families prominently present in this area include Eupomatiaceae, Magnoliaceae, Trochodendreace, Himantandraceae, Winteraceae and Tetracentraceae etc. and the primitive genera include Betula, Euptelea, Haematocarpus, Alnus, Holboellia Magnolia, etc.
Region of high diversity in India:
We know that there are 12 megadiversity countries in the world with some uniqueness as unique location of gangetic plains, peninsular land mass, crown complex chain of mountain system and conglomeratia of diverse bioclimates influenced by neighbouring areas (particularly Mediterranean). The Himalayan region is only 18% of land area of India but had 81.4 percent of total Gymnosperms of India. 47 percent of Angiosperms, 60 percent of Pteridophytes 44 percent of bryophytes and 53 percent of fungi of India can be seen is Himalayas.
407 taxa of Orchidaceae (one of the largest families) are endemic to India. Out of 18 monotypic genera Orchids, 13 are found in Himalaya. Eastern Himalayas are rich is Orchids while western Himalayas occupied by members of Poaceae, Asteraceae or Fabaceae.
Carex with more than 100 species of infraspecific categories is the largest genus of Himalaya. Rhododendron with 96 species and infraspecific Categories is the largest group in Eastern Himalaya while Astragalus with 90 species is the Largest genus in western Himalayas.
Eastern Himalayas:
Eastern Himalaya is the Cradle of numerous primitive angiosperms, e.g., Euptelea, Manglietia, Tetracentron Hedychium and many species of Bamboos.
Eastern Himalayas cover the states of Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunanchal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Darjeeling district of west Bengal. It is the richest phytogeoghraphic region of India with highest plant/Animal diversity, The region has characteristically high rainfall and humidy.
The climatic conditions are condusive for the growth of a large number of species. It is the richest biodiversity center of Indian subcontinent. It has a geographical area of about 2,55,050km2.
The detailed vegetation a flora of this region was described in ‘Flora of British India” and Sketches of flora of British India” by Hooker. Kanjilal worked on “Flora of Assam” mainly emphasising on Woody flora of this region. Haridasan and Rao (1985, 87) Wrote Forest flora of Meghalaya and Shukla (1996) published “Grasses of North Eastern India.
Some endemic genera of Eastern Himalaya are Bryocarpum, Gamblea, Geum Aucuba, Treutlera, Riselya etc. Cyathopus is endemic to Sikkim Biswarea, Jejosphia, Pauia and Hymenandra are endemic to North east India.
Some important endemic species of Eastern Himalaya are. Abies densa, Agapetes incurvata, Meconopsis superba, Liparis perpurilla, Rhododendron ciliatum, R.lanatum, R. Wallichii, Rubus fragarioides, Sassurea conica, Berberis dasyclada, Calamus leptospadix, Capparis acutifolia Aconitum assamicum, Lindera heterophylla, Eriobotrya hookeriana, Geum macrosepalum, Aeschynanthus parasiticus etc.
Western Himalayas:
The Western Himalayan region is one of the 12 biogeographic regions of India. It includes Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttrakhand. It constitutes the alpine-zone, temperate, humid and warm climate conditions. 67.5 percent of western Himalaya lies in Jammu & Kashmir, whereas Uttrakhand includes 15.5 percent and 17 percent in Himachal. This region shows extreme variation in climate as subtropical to alpine cold deserts and significantly great diversity in its flora.
There are more than 4500 species of flowering plants the major species of flowering plants, the major chunk is of Asteraceae. Other families are Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae and Rosaceae, Poaceae etc. Western Himalaya is relatively less varied in floristic composition than Eastern Himalaya.
Due to peculiar characteristic of Western Himalaya, high degree of endemism has been reported from this region, Trans Himalayan cold desert and Western Himalaya of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand designated amongst the 12 important centres of endemism in India. These are also considered as centres of genetic diversity and speciation. The approximate number of endemic species in North-Western Himalaya is 800.
Western Ghats:
The Western Ghats cover an area of 1,60,000 km2. It is one of the Hotspots among 25 biodiversity hotspots. The complex geography and variation in rainfall pattern produces a great variety of vegetation types.
It includes scrub forest in low lying rain shadow areas and plains, deciduous and tropical rain forest upto 1,500 meter and a unique mosaic of montane forest and rolling grasslands above 1,500 meter. The floristic richness is recognized in this region. There is high endemicity of flora.
The moist humid tropical condition of Western Ghats favours the evolution and speciation of endemic elements. Western ghats and peninsular India have approximately 2600 endemic species.
Invasive Species:
The climatic condition of India favours establishment of alien taxa migrated from different parts of the world, e.g. Lantana camara, Eupatorium adenophorum, Jatropha gossypifolia, Opuntia elatior, Agratum conyzoides etc. are some of the ornamental plants which are now a part of Indian flora. Some plants are introduced as impurities with seeds of cultivated plants e.g. Spergula arvensis, Stellaria media, Anagallis arvensis, Trigonella corniculata, Convolvulus arvensis, Sagina apetala etc.
Some plants of Asteraceae have naturalized in different parts of India and have become aggressive weeds e.g. Parthenium hysterophorus Eupatorium adenopheoum, Erigeron sp. Cenzya bonariensis, Xanthium strumarium, Tridax procumbans etc. some aggressive weeds like Mikania micrantha, Parthenium hysterophorus, Eupatorium odoratum, Amaranthus spinosus, Argemone mexicana. Lantana camara etc. are wide-spread while. Eichhornia crassipes, Pistia stratiotes are aquatic weeds.
According to Mitra and Mukherjee (2006) 267 genera and 782 species of 80 families are restricted to India and surroundings. 72 families belong to Dicots and 8 to monocots. Orchidaceae is the most diversified family with highest number of restricted genera.
Other families are Rubiaceae, Poaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae, and a number of species. Asteraceae is the most diversified family followed by Orchidaceae, Rubiaceae, Apiaceae, Poaceae, Lamiaceae and Fabaceae.
Economic Utility of Plants:
Plants are used for food, shelter and clothes since times inmmemorial A part of plants are used as medicines for various ailiments. The immence diversity of flowering plants provides economic benefits as source of food, medicine, fodder, timber, fibre, spices and condiments, dyes and tannins, gum and resins, beverages etc. Food plants are obtained mainly from members of poaceae (cereals), Fabaceae (pulses) Rosaceae (fruits), Solanaceae (vegetables) Cucurbitaceae (vegetables) and Asteraceae (oils).
1. Cerals:
The major cereal plants are Triticum (wheat), Oryza (rice) and Zeamays (maize) which make about 75 percent of total cereals of India while minor cereals as Avena sative (Oat), Hordeum vulgare (Jau), Penicum miliaceum, Pennisetum typhoideum (Bajra), Sorghum (Jwar), Elucine coracana (samak), etc. and Pseudocereal as Fagopyrum esculentum (kutu), Chenopodium (Bathua) and Amaranthus (chaulai) etc. are included in the remaining 25 percent of Cereals.
2. Pulses:
More than 20 species of family fabaceae are important pulses e.g. Cajanus cajan (Arhar), Cicer arietinum (Gram), Dolichos uniflorus, Lablab purpureous (Sem), Glycine max (Soyabean), Lathyrus sativus (Kesari), Pisum sativum (Matar), Vicia faba (Lobia), Lens esculenta (Masoor), Phaseolus sp. (Moong urad), Vigna sp. (Rajma), Cyamoprsis tetragonoloba (Gwar).
3. Vegetables:
More than 1200 species of herbaceous plants produce leafs and unripe fruits as vegetables. They belong mainly to families like Brassicaceae (Brassica sp., Raphanus sp.) Solanaceae (Solanum tuberosum, S. melongena, Lycopersicon esculentum,) Cucurbitaceae (Cururibita sp., Citrullus sp., Cucumis sp., Momordica charnatia, Trichosanthes dioica, Trichosanthes anguina), Chenopodiaceae (Chenopodium album, Spinacea oleracea, Beta vulgaris), Amaranthaceae (Amaranthus vridis), Euphorbiaceae (Mannihot esculenta), Dioscoreaceae (Dioscorea sp.), Liliaceae (Allium sativa, Allium sepa), Araceae (Colocasia sp., Alocasia sp., Amarphophallus), Malvaceae (Hibiscus subdariffa, Abelmoschus esculentus) etc.
4. Fruits:
Fruits are mainly obtained from families like Rosaceae (Malus sp., Prunus sp., Eriobotrya, Rubus, Cyadonia sp.,) Rutaceae (Citrus sp,), Musaceae (Musa sapientum, Musa paradesiaca), Arecaceae (Cocos nucifera, Baorassus flabellifer, Phoenix sylvestris, Areca sp.), Vitaceae (Vitis vinifera), Anacardiaceae (Mangifera indica, Anacardium occidentale), Caricaceae (Carica papaya), Moraceae (Morus alba), Annonaceae (Annona sqamosa). Rhamnaceae (Zizyphus jujube), Myrtaceae (Syzygium sp., Psidium guajava), Punicacae (Punica granatum) and Bromeliaceae (Annanas comosus) etc.
5. Nuts:
Important nuts yielding species are Anacardium occidentale, Buchanania angustifolia, Aleurites moluccana, Pistacia vera, Prunus amygdalus, Prunus armeniaca, Juglans regia, Castanea sativa, Cola acuminata, Corylus avellane, Euryale ferox, Trapa bispinosa etc.
6. Fatty acids & Oils:
Fatty acids and oils are obtained from plants like Gossypium sp. Elaeis guinneensis, Cocos nucifera, Sesamum indicum, S. orientale, Helianthus annuus, Glycine max, Linum usitatissimum, Guizotia abyssinica, Ricinus communis, Brassica campestris etc. Apart from the above mentioned plants some wild plant seeds also produce fatty oils e.g., Pongamia pinnata, Sorbus aucuparia, Derris indica, Actaea acuminata, Shorea robusta, Schleichera oleosa, Prinsepia utilis etc.
7. Essential oils:
More than 400 species of angiosperms are observed producing essential oils. Generally essential oils are extracted from plant parts other than seeds or storage organs. Some important examples are: Santalum album, Vetiveria zizanoides, Boswellia serrata, Citrus sp., Rosa sp., Lavandula sp., Mentha sp., Cymbopogon sp., Cinnamomum camphora etc.
8. Spices and Condiments:
India is one of the major spice producing countries of the world. Some important spices and condiments producing plants are Carum copticum, C.carvi, Coriandrum sativum, Cuminum cyminun, Apium graveoleus, Anethum sowa, Cinamomum verum, Curcuma longa, Eugenia caryophyllus, Myristica fragrans, Brassica juncea, Elettaria cardamomum, Trigonella foenum- graceum Pimpinella anisum, Zingiber officinale, Murraya koenigii, Nigella sativa, Anmomum subulatum, Piper nigrum etc. Most of the spices are obtained from family Apiaceae.
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9. Fibers:
Fibers mainly are obtained from leaves, phloem (Bast fibre) or xylem (wood fibre). The fibre yielding plants mainly belong to families Fabaceae (Crotolaria juncea) Cannabinaceae (Cannabis sativa), Arecaceae (Caryota urens, Cocos nucifera, Calamus sp., Borassus flebellifer, Phoenix sp.), Bombacaceae (Bombax ceiba, B. malabaricum, Ceiba pentandra), Poaceae (Phragmites karka, Dendrocalamus, Saccharum spontaneum, Saccharum munja, Arundinaria sp., Bambusa sp., Sorghum sp., Eulaliopsis binata, Dinochola andamanica), Malvaceae (Hibiscus cannabinus, H. Sabdariffa, Gossypium sp.) Linaceae (Linum usitatissimum), Tiliaceae (Corchorus capsularis, C. olitorius), Cyoeraceae (Cyperus corymbosus), Agavaceae (Agave americama, Agave sisalana, Yucca gloriosa), Musaceae (Musa textilis) etc. The fibres are used in various ways e.g. making baskets, ropes, brushes, Cordages rough weaving, mats etc.
10. Paper manufacture:
The pulp of some plants as Populus sp, Boswellia serrata, Bambusa sp., Arundinaria sp., Dendrocalamus strictus, Eulaliopsis binata etc. is used in manufacturing of paper.
11. Medicinal plants:
Various parts of flowering plants are used for the prepration of herbal medicines. Some very important medicinal flowering plants are Withamia somnifera, Terminalia arjuna, T. bellarica, T.chebula, Boerhhavia. diffusa, Plantago ovata, Barleria prionitis, Phyllanthus emblica, Acorus calamus, Asparagus sp., Andrographis paniculata, Adhatoda zeylanica, Holarrhena antidysrentrica, Gymnema sylvestre, Centella asiatica Gloriosa superba, Rauvolfia serpentina, Bacopa monnieri, Orozylum indicum, Tinospora cordifolia etc.
12. Timber:
Many trees are used for making furniture, agricultural implements, wooden cabinets shelters, Doors, windows, etc. Some important timber plants are Albizia labbec, Dalbargia sisso, Tectona grandis, Shorea robusta, Terminalia sp., Juglans regia etc.
13. Beverages:
Non-alcoholic beverages are obtained from Coffea arabica, C. robusta, Theobroma cacao, Camellia sinensis, fresh sap of Phoenix sylvestris, and Borassus flabellifer. etc.
14. Gums and Resins:
Gums are obtained from Sterculiaceae (Sterculia sp.), Mimosaceae (Acacia sp), Cochlospermaceae (Cochlospermum religiosum), Combretaceae (Anogeissus pendula) etc.
Resins are obtained from plants of Burseraceae (Boswellia sp., Bursera gummifera), Anacardiaceae (Rhus sp., Schinopsis lorentzii), Mimosaceae (Acacia Senegal), Polygonaceae (Rumax hymenosephalus), Rhizophoraceae (Rhizophora mucronata, Ceriops sp, Bruguiera sp.) Myrtaceae (Eucalyptus) & Combretaceae (Terminalia sp.)
15. Dyes:
Many plants are source of natural dyes e.g. Indigofera sp., Butea monosperma, Erythryina sp., Mallotus philippinensis, Crocus sativus, Law sonia innermis, Carthamus tinctorius etc.
