Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June 2024 | 16(6): 25453–25460

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8855.16.6.25453-25460

#8855 | Received 27 March 2023 | Final received 20 January 2024 | Finally accepted 29 May 2024

 

 

Woody flora of Karumpuliyuthu Hill, Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, India: a checklist

 

K. Lalithalakshmi 1, A. Selvam 2 & M. Udayakumar 3

 

1–3 Department of Plant Science, Manonmniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu 627012, India.

1 mannarlalitha@gmail.com, 2 selvam@msuniv.ac.in (corresponding author), 3 udayakumar@msuniv.ac.in

 

 

Editor: Kannan C.S. Warrier, ICFRE - Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore, India.         Date of publication: 26 June 2024 (online & print)

 

Citation: Lalithalakshmi, K., A. Selvam & M. Udayakumar (2024). Woody flora of Karumpuliyuthu Hill, Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu, India: a checklist. Journal of Threatened Taxa 16(6): 25453–25460. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8855.16.6.25453-25460

  

Copyright: © Chimyang et al. 2024. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: None.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Author details: A. Selvam is an associate professor currently handling a core research grant project funded by SERB, GoI. M. Udayakumar is an assistant professor whose interests are forest ecology and angiosperm systematics. K. Lalithalakshmi is currently pursuing a Ph.D. under the guidance of AS in the field of forest ecology.

 

Author contribution: AS and MU designed and conceptualized the study. AS, MU, and LK conducted field surveys, collection, identification and documentation of woody plants from study area. MU and LK prepared the first draft of the manuscript and AS corrected it.

 

Acknowledgements: We thank the Department of Forest, Government of Tamil Nadu for allowing us to conduct field surveys at Karumpuliyuthu hill, Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu.  We extend our thanks to the DFO, Tirunelveli for the necessary permission to conduct field works at Karumpuliyuthu hills.

 

 

Abstract: Qualitative field surveys were conducted to record the woody plant (tree, shrub, and liana) wealth in Karumpuliyuthu Hill, Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu. All the recorded species were confirmed with regional floras. The qualitative field survey allowed us to record 42 species in 32 genera and 19 families. The family Fabaceae had a large number of species (13 species) in the study area. The present study adds valuable information about the occurrence of 42 woody plant species in a tropical thorn forest ecosystem. The woody plant community is dominated by native plants, and only three are introduced. Nearly half of the recorded species produce fleshy fruits, thus providing food to small mammals and birds.

 

Keywords: Dry forest, fruit, peninsular India, southern thorn forest, woody plant wealth.

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Information on plant diversity such as flora, checklist, and quantitative or qualitative ecological studies are useful for understanding the changes that take place in forest plant communities (Armonies et al. 2018). Besides, these data are vital to frame conservation measures (Francisco-Ortega et al. 2010) and forest restoration (Shetu et al. 2018). Invariably all types of forests and trees deliver an array of ecosystem services (Taye et al. 2021). There are about 61,000 tree species flourishing on this earth (Qian et al. 2019). Trees provide a range of non-timber forest products including honey, fuel wood and fiber (FAO 2014). In addition, they play important roles in combating global climate change through carbon storage and sequestration (Roebroek et al. 2023). In general, woody plants store relatively more amount of biomass than herbaceous communities in forest ecosystems (Borah et al. 2015). Tropical thorn forests support moderate woody plant diversity (Rahangdale et al. 2014; Evitex-Izayas & Udayakumar 2021; Muneeswaran & Udayakumar 2022). Data on plant diversity of tropical thorn forests in Tamil Nadu remain scarce. This study aims to explore the woody plant wealth (shrubs, trees, and woody liana) of a tropical thorn forest ecosystem existing within Karumpuliyuthu Hill located in Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu. 

 

 

MATERIALS AND METHODS

 

Study area

Karumpuliyuthu Hill located in Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu (Figure 1). The district was bifurcated from Tirunelveli district in 2019. The northern, eastern, western, and southern boundaries of the district are Virudhunagar, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, and Kerala, respectively. The mean annual precipitation of the district is 769.2 mm, while the mean maximum and minimum temperatures are 29 and 27°C, respectively (https://mausam.imd.gov.in/chennai/). The total geographical area of the district is 2,882.43 km2, whereas the forest cover is 439.99 km2 (https://tenkasi.nic.in/).

 

Field survey

A sum of 32 field surveys have been conducted to record woody plant wealth (shrubs, trees, and liana) in the tropical thorn forest ecosystem existing within Karumpuliyuthu Hill, located in Tenkasi district, one of the southernmost districts of India. All the recorded species were identified with available regional floras and checklists (Gamble & Fischer 1921–1935; Muneeswaran & Udayakumar 2022). The nomenclature of families and the author citation of species followed Plants of the World Online (https://powo.science.kew.org/). The current status of all the recorded species was verified with the help of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/). Further, the flowering and fruiting phenophases of woody plants were recorded monthly for one year. A plant with flower (bud & open) and fruit (immature & mature) considered as ‘reproducing’. The length of reproductive phenophase was calculated and recorded in months.

 

 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

 

The qualitative field survey allowed us to record 42 species in 32 genera and 19 families. The family Fabaceae had the large number of species (13 species) followed by Apocynaceae and Rubiaceae (three species each). Capparaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Menispermaceae, Rhamnaceae, Malvaceae, Verbenaceae, and Vitaceae had two species each, while, nine families represented by just a single species each in the study area (Figure 2 & Table 1). Important species of study area featured in Image 1.

The woody plant wealth of Karumpuliyuthu Hill (42 species) is comparable with a tropical thorn forest existing within Asola-Bhatti wildlife sanctuary, India (42 woody plants including 17 trees, 15 shrubs, and 10 climbers; Sharma & Chaudhry 2018); lower than in Carnatic umbrella thorn (53 and 54 in Hosur and Dharmapuri, respectively), secondary dry deciduous (48), southern dry mixed deciduous (95), southern tropical dry moist mixed deciduous (67), southern thorn (52), southern thorn scrub (53 and 49 in Hosur and Dharmapuri, respectively) and tropical dry evergreen forests in Tami Nadu (Tiwari & Ravikumar 2018a,b); and, tropical thorn forest of Gujarat (58 tree species, 44 mature, 41 seedlings, and 32 saplings; Rajendrakumar & Kalavathy 2010). However, the woody plant wealth of present study area is higher than in southern moist mixed deciduous (29), dry deciduous (22), Hardwickia (18 and 9 in Hosur and Dharmapuri, respectively), dry deciduous scrub (30), Euphorbia scrub (24), southern tropical dry deciduous (34) and southern dry scrub (16 and 34 in Hosur and Dharmapuri, respectively) forests flourishing in Tamil Nadu (Tiwari & Ravikumar 2018a,b); tropical thorn forest of Gujarat (8 climbers, 14 shrubs, and 17 trees; Patel et al. 2014); Prosopis juliflora invaded (27 tree species) and uninvaded southern thorn forest (35 tree species; Athamanakath et al. 2023).

The anthropogenic activities (cutting of trees, fuel wood collection etc.) transformed close-canopied dry deciduous forest in to tropical thorn forest (Champion & Seth 1968). Murphy & Lugo (1986) found relationships among species richness and moisture gradients across tropical forests and shown least number of tree species in driest areas. Singh & Singh (1988) recognized tropical thorn forest as extremely poor in terms of species richness and inhabited by mostly deciduous species. Tropical thorn forests occurring in a drier habitat and experience 5–6 dry months in a year, hence act as a habitat for moderate number of woody plants. It has been investigated that range of factors including altitude, mean annual minimum and maximum temperatures, distribution and frequency of precipitation and soil moisture content influence tree density, species richness and diversity (e.g., Thakur et al. 2022). For instance, Dattaraja et al. (2018) investigated the relationship between diversity of woody plants and environmental factors in Indian tropical forests and found thorn forests support least number of woody species. Detailed studies of impact of environmental factors on thorn forest ecosystem are limited.

The members of Fabaceae dominating the woody plant community in tropical thorn forest ecosystem. It is well known that a considerable number of species belongs to the family Fabaceae (e.g., Acacia & Vachellia) are able to fix nitrogen with the help of soil bacteria (Brockwell et al. 2005). Nitrogen fixation by members of Fabaceae could enhance the fertility of soil in tropical thorn forest. Recently, Evitex-Izayas & Udayakumar (2021) in a thorn forest ecosystem, Uthumalai, Tirunelveli; Nagaraj & Udayakumar (2021) in a southern thorn forest existing within Vallanadu Blackbuck Sanctuary (VBS), Thoothukudi; Muneeswaran & Udayakumar (2022) in a Carnatic umbrella thorn forest, Therikadu, Thoothukudi observed the dominance of Fabaceae members. Notably, the members of Fabaceae constituted 52.36% of tree community in VBS (Nagaraj & Udayakumar 2021). Besides, Indian thorn forests act as home for threatened species (Joshi et al. 2012; Baskaran & Desai 2013); range of insects (Adarsh et al. 2013; Majumder et al. 2015), and birds (Narwade & Fartade 2011; Babu & Bhupathy 2013).

 

Mode of regeneration

All the recorded plants produce seeds and regenerate from them during wet season. Eight species viz., Coccinea grandis, Cissus quadrangularis, C. vitiginea, Commiphora berryi, Euphorbia antiquorum, Morinda coreia, Sarcostemma acidum, and Tinospora cordifolia regenerate through seeds and vegetative parts (stems and root sucker). In general, seed predation by insects and rodents affects seed germination and seedling establishment in tropical forests (e.g., Guariguata et al. 2000). Information on various functional traits of seeds and seedlings are limited, therefore, continuous field studies and monitoring are necessary for better understanding of regeneration of tropical thorn forests.

 

Life form and conservation status

Among three life forms (trees, shrubs, and lianas), the trees dominated the study area with 18 species, shrubs represented by 15, whereas the liana represented by nine species (Figure 3 & Table 1). Half of all the recorded species were categorized under Least Concern (LC), 20 species were identified as Not Evaluated (NE) and only one was listed as Data Deficient (DD) (Table 1). All the listed species are native to India, except Prosopis juliflora, Senegalia mellifera, and Vachellia tortilis. Twenty-three species produced fleshy fruits (berry or drupe), remaining formed dry fruits (pod, lomentum, dehiscent and indehiscent capsules), thus the existing woody plant community in the study area partially fulfilled the food requirement of various birds (e.g., Bulbul, Myna) and small mammals (e.g., Squirrel, Civet, Forest rat). In addition, 21 species had mechanical protective structures either spine or thorn. It is well known that the presence of sharp protective structures (spine, thorn, prickle) is one of the common features for species growing in drier environments.

 

Reproductive phenophase of woody plants

The length of reproductive phenophase varied across species. Of 41 species, five species had four months of reproductive phenophase, 12 had five months, 11 had six months and six reproduced throughout the year (Table 1). The mean duration of reproductive phenophase of studied species was 5.214 ± 2.469 months. The reproductive phenophase peaked in April (39 species) followed by May (38), June (37), and July (31). Whereas, 12 species each reproduced in January, October, November, and December. Most of the species tends to reproduce after north-east monsoon (October–December). Researchers found close relationships among reproduction of trees, relative humidity and moisture content of tropical forests (Bhat 1992; Sundarapandian et al. 2005; Selwyn et al. 2006; Nanda et al. 2014).

 

Wild edible plants

The thorn forest acts as a home for five wild edible plants. The palmyra palm Borassus flabelliber provides edible tender and mature fruits, seed haustoria, and seedling. It has been well documented and known that many parts of the palmyra palm are economically important (Rahman et al. 2021). Carissa spinarum, Morinda coreia, and Ziziphus nummularia yield edible fruits. A large number of researchers made a detailed study on these fruits and recorded vitamin, mineral, anti-oxidant, and nutrient contents (C. spinarum: Liu et al. 2021; M. coreia: Chandra & Meel 2020; Z. nummularia: Uddin et al. 2022). Young and tender stems of Cissus quadrangularis is edible and medicinal. A considerable number of medicinally important bioactive chemical compounds have been isolated from C. quadrangularis (Bafna et al. 2021).

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

The present study adds valuable information about the occurrence of 42 woody plant species in the tropical thorn forest ecosystem located at Karumpuliyuthu Hill, Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu. The forest ecosystem supports a moderate woody plant diversity and five wild-edible plants. Most of the recorded woody plants belong to India, except three species. Tropical thorn forests are least explored in terms of ecology and taxonomy, thus extensive quantitative field studies are to be carried out to record the plant wealth and realize the range of ecosystem services. Further, the thorn forests are endowed with substantial number of trees with nitrogen fixing ability, research on these lines are helpful to understand the evolution and survival of drought tolerant forest systems.

 

 

Table 1. Botanical name, family and life form of woody plants found in Karumpuliyuthu hill, Tenkasi district, Tamil Nadu. (introduced species marked with ‘*’ mark, wild edible plants with ‘@’).

 

Botanical name

Family

Life form

IUCN Red List status

Fruit type

Mode of

regeneration

Flowering and

fruiting season

1

Albizia amara (Roxb.) Boivin

Mimosaceae

Tree

Least Concern

Pod

Seed

April–July

2

Azadirachta indica A.Juss.

Meliaceae

Tree

Least Concern

Drupe

Seed

April–August

3

@Borassus flabellifer L.

Arecaceae

Tree

Least Concern

Drupe

Seed

March–August

4

Canthium coromandelicum (Burm.f.) Alston

Rubiaceae

Tree

Not Evaluated

Berry

Seed

January–June

5

Capparis sepiaria L.

Capparidaceae

Shrub

Least Concern

Berry

Seed

April–August

6

Capparis grandiflora Wall. ex Hook.f. & Thomson

Capparidaceae

Liana

Not Evaluated

Berry

Seed

April–July

7

@Carissa spinarum L.

Apocynaceae

Shrub

Least Concern

Berry

Seed

March–July

8

Catunaregam spinosa (Thunb.) Tirveng.

Rubiaceae

Shrub

Least Concern

Drupe

Seed

April–September

9

Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt

Cucurbitaceae

Liana

Not Evaluated

Pepo

Seed and vegetative

Throughout the year

10

@Cissus quadrangularis L.

Vitaceae

Liana

Not Evaluated

Berry

Seed and vegetative

February–August

11

Cissus vitiginea L.

Vitaceae

Liana

Not Evaluated

Berry

Seed and vegetative

March–July

12

Cocculus hirsutus (L.) W.Theob.

Menispermaceae

Liana

Not Evaluated

Berry

Seed

February–June

13

Commiphora berryi (Arn.) Engl.

Burseraceae

Shrub

Not Evaluated

Drupe

Seed and vegetative

April–September

14

Dalbergia spinosa Roxb.

Papilionaceae

Shrub

Least Concern

Pod

Seed

March–August

15

Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) Wight & Arn.

Mimosaceae

Tree

Least Concern

Pod

Seed

February–June

16

Dodonaea viscosa Jacq.

Sapindaceae

Shrub

Least Concern

Capsule

Seed

Throughout the year

17

Ehretia aspera Willd.

Boraginaceae

Tree

Data Deficient

Berry

Seed

April–September

18

Euphorbia antiquorum L.

Euphorbiaceae

Shrub

Least Concern

Capsule

Seed and vegetative

Throughout the year

19

Flueggea leucopyrus Willd.

Euphorbiaceae

Shrub

Least Concern

Berry

Seed

October–January

20

Gmelina asiatica L.

Verbenaceae

Shrub

Least Concern

Drupe

Seed

February–September

21

Grewia hirsuta Vahl

Tiliaceae

Liana

Least Concern

Drupe

Seed

February–June

22

Grewia serrulata DC.

Tiliaceae

Shrub

Not Evaluated

Drupe

Seed

March–June

23

Holoptelea integrifolia (Roxb.) Planch.

Ulmaceae

Tree

Not Evaluated

Samara

Seed

February–August

24

Lannea coromandelica (Houtt.) Merr.

Anacardiaceae

Tree

Least Concern

Drupe

Seed

April–July

25

@Morinda coreia Buch.-Ham.

Rubiaceae

Tree

Not Evaluated

Berry

Seed and root sucker

Throughout the year

26

Premna tomentosa Willd.

Verbenaceae

Shrub

Least Concern

Drupe

Seed

March–August

27

Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce

Mimosaceae

Shrub

Not Evaluated

Lomentum

Seed

April–September

28

*Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC.

Mimosaceae

Tree

Not Evaluated

Lomentum

Seed

Throughout the year

29

Rivea hypocrateriformis (Desr.) Choisy

Convolvulaceae

Liana

Least Concern

Capsule

Seed

October–April

30

Sarcostemma acidum (Roxb.) Voigt

Apocynaceae

Liana

Not Evaluated

Follicle

Seed and vegetative

February–July

31

Senegalia chundra (Roxb. ex Rottler) Maslin

Mimosaceae

Tree

Not Evaluated

Pod

Seed

March–July

32

*Senegalia mellifera (Benth.) Seigler & Ebinger

Mimosaceae

Tree

Least Concern

Pod

Seed

March–July

33

Senna auriculata (L.) Roxb.

Caesalpiniaceae

Shrub

Not Evaluated

Pod

Seed

Throughout the year

34

Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Hook.f. & Thomson

Menispermaceae

Liana

Not Evaluated

Berry

Seed and vegetative

February–June

35

Vachellia horrida (L.) Kyal. & Boatwr.

Mimosaceae

Tree

Not Evaluated

Pod

Seed

July–November

36

Vachellia leucophloea (Roxb.) Maslin, Seigler & Ebinger

Mimosaceae

Tree

Least Concern

Pod

Seed

March–July

37

Vachellia nilotica (L.) P.J.H.Hurter & Mabb.

Mimosaceae

Tree

Least Concern

Lomentum

Seed

July–December

38

Vachellia planifrons (Wight & Arn.) Ragup., Seigler, Ebinger & Maslin

Mimosaceae

Tree

Not Evaluated

Pod

Seed

February–July

39

*Vachellia tortilis (Forssk.) Galasso & Banfi

Mimosaceae

Tree

Least Concern

Pod

Seed

March–July

40

Wrightia tinctoria B.Heyne ex Roth.

Apocynaceae

Tree

Not Evaluated

Follicle

Seed

December–June

41

@Ziziphus nummularia (Burm.f.) Wight & Arn.

Rhamnaceae

Shrub

Not Evaluated

Drupe

Seed

October–May

42

Ziziphus xylopyrus (Retz.) Willd.

Rhamnaceae

Shrub

Not Evaluated

Drupe

Seed

October–June

 

 

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