DIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION OF PLANT RESOURECES OF TIRUMALAIAH GUTTA SACRED GROVE, WANAPARTHY, TELANGANA, INDIA

Abstract

Tirumalaiah Gutta sacred grove is situated near Wanaparthy, Telanagana with dry deciduous and scrub forests and huge rock boulders. The study yields a total of 467 taxa belonging to 283 genera and 81 families. Of the 467 taxa, 332 are dicots, 129 are monocots and 6 are pteridophytes. Of the 81 families,Poaceae is the largest family with 77 taxa, followed by Fabaceae (51), Cyperaceae (25), Asteraceae (24),Rubiaceae (19) and Acanthaceae (18). A total number of 34 endemic taxa at different levels are recorded of which, Alysicarpus mahabubnagarensis is endemic to Mahabubnagar district, Chryopogon velutinus is endemic to Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, Rathnagiri hills of Maharashtra and Wanaparthy district of Telangana; Euphorbia senguptea and Rostellularia vahlii var. rupicola are endemic to Eastern Ghats. From the inventory it has been resulted in a total of 16 taxa which was identified and found as addition to the flora of Telangana
state after a perusal of literature. Ceropegia spiralis, Caralluma stalagmifera, Tripogon purpurascens, Chrysopogon velutinus are some of the significant taxa of the study. Good number of insectivorous plants were also recorded from the study area. The “Sanjeevani” is mythical herb mentioned in the Ramayana as a
wonderful medicinal plant was present in this area. A total number of 382 taxa can be considered as economically important.