Prioritisation of endemic plants of Eastern Ghats for Biological conservation C. Sudhakar Reddy1, Y.N.R. Varma2, M. Brahmam3 & V.S. Raju4 1. Forestry & Ecology Division, National Remote Sensing Agency, Balanagar, Hyderabad-500 037 2. Department of Botany, P.G. College of Science, Saifabad, Hyderabad- 500 004 3. Institute of Minerals & Materials Technology, CSIR, Bhubaneswar – 751013 4. Department of Botany, Kakatiya University, Warangal – 506 009 Email: drsudhakarreddy@gmail.com Abstract There is an international effort to identify species that face extinction in order to make conservation efforts more efficient. Availability of the updated data on the list of threatened plants is important for framing conservation strategies. It has been shown that about 10% of all plant taxa are threatened globally. The Red Data Book of Indian plants is a reference manual that lists threatened plants. The objective of present study was to test whether the Red Data Book provides a comprehensive list of the threatened endemic plants of Eastern Ghats and to suggest a list of potential plants for conservation ranking to include under Red Data Book (RDB). In order to accomplish this task, we listed a total of 145 species of endemic plants, including 44 RDB plant species, compared the data on species distribution based on herbaria, literature and current field surveys and cross checked the listings in the Red Data Book with individual species. The present paper highlights the current status of the endemic plants of Eastern Ghats. Introduction India’s forests are under severe pressure for meeting growing demands for fuel, fodder, grazing, timber and non-timber forest products from an ever increasing human and livestock population, and industrial demands. It is very difficult to explore beneath the static descriptions of any ecosystem and assess its long-term 'health'. Biodiversity conservation is important to ensure that the fundamental components of living resources are maintained. The Red Data Book (RDB) of Indian Plants (Nayar & Sastry, 1987, 1988, 1990) focuses exclusively on the Indian flora and more precisely on threatened angiosperms, gymnosperms and Pteridophytes. Researchers studying rarity, use it is an analytical tool and the accuracy of their results depend on the RDB. Customs Agencies need the RDB to guide them in controlling the illegal trade of biological material under CITES. Finally the RDB has reached the status of a reference guide with important implications of research, conservation and for the economy. The most recent edition of the RDB is based on the criteria of Leucas & Synge (1978). Since, its creation, IUCN has attempted to list species that are threatened with extinction globally. It has been shown that about 10% of all plant taxa are threatened globally (IUCN, 1994). The criteria used to define the categories of threatened species are accordingly upgraded (IUCN, 2001).The RDB, however contains only 814 species (4.7%) of the known 17000 species in India. It reveals the presence of relatively small proportion of threatened plant species in the RDB. Data on plant species and their distribution in the Eastern Ghats permits us to cross-check the listings in the RDB for a particular flora. The data contains information on the number of records of endemic species in herbaria, in literature and field surveys (C.S. Reddy, 2001; C.S. Reddy et al. 2006; C.S. Reddy et al. 2008a). The objective of this study was to test whether the RDB provides a comprehensive list of the threatened endemic plants of Eastern Ghats and to suggest a list of potential plants for conservation ranking to include under RDB. Study Area The Eastern Ghats along the Peninsular India extending over 2000 km with average width of about 100 km and covering the area under 11 30' to 21 0' N Lat. and 77 22' to 85 20' E long. The wide range of topography and other physical features of the Eastern Ghats, provided by the hills raising from almost sea level to about 1572 m altitude, shaped the land to harbour rich and varied flora. They are not formed of one particular geological formation but consists of rocks varying in origin and structure according to the location (Meher-Homji, 2001). Several large rivers like Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, cut the range into discontinuous blocks of hills along the east coast. Based on geological and tectonic considerations, the Eastern Ghats are formed of four sections: (1) the portion north of the Mahanadi river covering Mayurbhanj (Similipal) and the adjoining territory; (2) the portion between the Mahanadi and the Godavari where the mountainous character of the Eastern Ghats is most clearly marked, with the Deomali peak (1672m), Palamkini (1516m), Nimagiri (1516m), Mahendragiri (1501m), Sambarikonda (1527m). Araku, Charnokites and Khondalites compose this montane tract; (3) the third section lies between the Krishna river and the Chennai city along the arcuate eastern margin of the Cuddapah basin. This section includes the Nallamalais, Veligonda, Palakonda, Seshachalam hills whose average elevation is 750m. Quartzite and slate formations predominate. (4) the last section comprises the tract between Chennai and the Nilgiri hills where they join the Western Ghats. Prominent features are the Javadi hills of North Arcot, the Gingee and Kalrayan hills of South Arcot, Pachamalai hills of Tiruchirapalli, Shevaroys and Kolli hills of Salem and Biligirirangan hills in Chamrajnagar, Sandoor hills in Bellary and Kolar. The knowledge of the floral wealth of Eastern Ghats is not fully known and in our estimation based on literature, the number of flowering plant taxa occurring in the Eastern Ghats is about 3200. Eastern Ghats have ‘ecological islands’ that harbour endemic plants. These areas are Simlipal, GanjamKoraput range of Orissa, Visakhapatnam hills, Upper Godavari, Nallamala-Cuddapah-Seshachalam hill ranges of Andhra Pradesh and Shevaroys, North and South Arcot districts of Tamil Nadu. In most of these areas only vestiges of the once luxuriant and verdant forests remain. They are under commercial exploitation of land by way of quarrying and mining (Koraput, Araku, RV Nagar, Gudem, Papi hills), dam building (Srisailam, Nagarjunasagar, Polavaram), monocultures and forest plantations (Koraput, Gudem, Tirumala, Shevaroy), hydrothermal projects (Machkund, Sileru, Kondapalli) and shifting cultivation (Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Khammam, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangapur, Ganjam, Gajapathi, Phulbani). Most of the native species are under threat due to loss of habitat, anthropogenic pressure, exploitation for medicine and invasion of alien species (C.S. Reddy et al. 2008b). There are many species (96) of wild relatives of cultivated plants are occurring in Eastern Ghats. Oryza meyeriana (More & Steud.) Baill., 'the mountain rice' appearing like seedlings of bamboo in northern Eastern Ghats, Oryza jeyporensis Govind. & Krishn. is an endemic rice of wetlands in northern Eastern Ghats, Oryza officinalis Wall. ex Watt ssp. malampuzhaensis (Krishn. & Chandr.) Tateoka is a 'wild rice' in drier tracts of Nallamalais (Middle Eastern Ghats). Material and Methods In order to accomplish the task of prioritisation, three sources of data were utilized for compiling the information of endemic species: herbaria (specimens checked in the national and regional herbaria), literature and field surveys since 1996. In the present study (a) listed endemic taxa of the Eastern Ghats, (b) Compared the data on species distribution based on herbaria, literature and current field surveys and (c) Compared the RDB categories with individual species. Results and Discussion The species were ranked according to the number of records. We listed a total of 145 species of endemic plants, including the RDB plants. Of these 47 taxa are known from type collections, 21 species are known from type locality and 41 species were least known in herbaria. (table 1). Of the 41 species of least known herbaria species 21 were found the place in RDB. Of the 36 species of discontinuous range, 17 were reported in RDB (table 2). All the rare species were changed to ‘vulnerable’ (table 3) to follow the nomenclatural recommendations of IUCN (1994). Habit-wise analysis shows that herbs represent 77 species followed by trees (32), shrubs (24) and climbers (12) (table 4). RDB covers 44 species of the 145 species of endemics. It means that <2% of species were recorded in the red list categories (RDB) of 3000 species of flowering plants. The number of threatened species increased with decreased number of records. Consequently, the figure of 145 species underestimates the number of indigenous plants under stress. But even the particular assemblage studied here, consisting exclusively of endemic species, contains a relatively higher proportion of threatened species than does the wide spread flora of the Eastern Ghats. A priori, rare species usually have smaller ranges of distribution than abundant species. Herbaria records, field inventories and published literature in combination shows significant correlation to infer species abundances. These findings indicate that number of herbaria records and field records are good indicator of threat. Actually, the species least recorded in herbaria (41 species) have been observed to be very rare and localized. Of these only 3 species appear in the RDB. In Conservation Assessment and Management Planning (C.A.M.P.) workshop for medicinal plants of Andhra Pradesh (2001) some of the endemic species were assessed under different threat categories (globally) namely: Cycas beddomei (Critically Endangered), Decalepis hamiltonii (Endangered), Hildegardia populifolia (Vulnerable), Phyllanthus indofischeri (Vulnerable), Pimpinella tirupatiensis (Endangered), Pterocarpus santalinus (Endangered), Shorea tumbaggaia (Endangered), Syzygium alternifolium (Endangered), Terminalia pallida (Endangered) and Urginea nagarjunae (Endangered) (Jadhav et al. 2001). An urgent re-assessment of the threat categories of the least recorded endemic species is highly desirable. The paper proposes to include all the endemic plants of Eastern Ghats which were known from type collection and type locality on a priority basis in the RDB. It is suggested that the status of several endemic plant species should be examined on a priority basis using qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Table 1 can be used to prioritize a revision. Justification to consider endemics of Eastern Ghats for conservation prioritization The major parts of Eastern Ghats are under explored; floristic wealth of the region is not fully known. The Eastern Ghats are ‘tors’ of geological antiquity and older than Himalayas and Western Ghats. The Eastern Ghats are isolated hill ranges in Peninsular India, harbour primarily Tropical Deciduous vegetation, which represents species of high economic/timber/medicinal potential. The Eastern Ghats are homeland for 96 species of wild relatives of crops (eg: wild rice, wild pepper, wild banana, wild turmeric, wild pigeon-pea). The endemic plants of Eastern Ghats are palaeoendemics,which are under the gradual process of extinction. All the endemic plants are shows narrow range of distribution and are localized (in the case of Western Ghats, many endemic species are widely distributed throughout the Ghats and are common). The Eastern Ghats are one of the best resource areas for Bauxite deposits in the world, which are of immense economic potential. Nearly, 54 tribal communities inhabit Eastern Ghats region. Eastern Ghats has the pride of representing one of the costliest and scented woods of the world -Santalum album (Sandal wood). The Eastern Ghats are cut across by the major rivers like Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Pennar, and Kauveri. Species rich zones are isolated in Eastern Ghats in comparison to Western Ghats, where there is a continuity of mountain system and almost same humid climate. Conclusion It is now for the botanists to critically examine the entries in Red List category and prepare threatened plants list, more scientific than before for their own regions. This will draw attention of to programmes of conservation and will help planners and administrators to understand the urgency and importance of conservation of threatened species. We need to raise the levels of our perception and evaluation. References 1. Jadhav, S.N., D.K. Ved, U. Ghate, K.N. Reddy & C.S. Reddy. 2001. Proceedings of the workshop on Conservation Assessment and Management Planning (CAMP) for Medicinal Plants of Andhra Pradesh. FRLHT, Bangalore. 2. Meher-Homji, V.M. 2001. Bioclimatology and Plant Geography of Peninsular India. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur, India. 3. Nayar, M.P. & A.R.K. Sastry 1987. Red Data Book of Indian Plants. Vol. 1. BSI, Calcutta. 4. Nayar, M.P. & A.R.K. Sastry 1988. Red Data Book of Indian Plants. Vol. 2. BSI, Calcutta. 5. Nayar, M.P. & A.R.K. Sastry 1990. Red Data Book of Indian Plants. Vol. 3. BSI, Calcutta. 6. Reddy, C.S. 2001. Hybanthus vatsavayii (Violaceae): A new species from Andhra Pradesh, India. J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 25: 219-220. 7. Reddy, C.S., M. Brahmam & V.S. Raju. 2006. Conservation Prioritization of Endemic plants of Eastern Ghats, India. J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 30(4): 755-772. 8. Reddy, C.S., K. Thulsi Rao, I. Siva Rama Krishna, and S.M.M. Javed. 2008a. Vegetation and Floristic Studies in Nallamalais, Andhra Pradesh, India. Jour. Plant Sciences 3(1): 85-91. 9. Reddy, C.S., G. Bagyanarayana, K.N. Reddy and V.S. Raju. 2008b. Invasive Alien Flora of India. National Biological Information Infrastructure, USGS, USA, http://www.gisinetwork.org/. Table 1. Endemic Plant species of Eastern Ghats. S.No. Taxon Habit RDB category GYMNOSPERMAE = CYCADOPHYTA Cycadaceae 1 Cycas beddomei Dyer Shrub Vulnerable 2 Uniquenes Hill ranges s District-wise distribution Type locality Seshachalam Chittoor, Cuddapah Cycas sphaerica Roxb. Shrub Scattered South and Central Eastern Orissa Gajapathi, Phulbani, Angul, Khurda, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Nayagarh ANGIOSPERMAE = MAGNOLIOPHYTA DICOTYLEDONAE = MAGNOLIOPSIDA Acanthaceae Andrographis beddomei Clarke Andrographis nallamalayana Ellis Under shrub Procumbe nt herb Type locality Type locality Nallamalais Kurnool Nallamalais Kurnool, Cuddapah 5 Barleria morrisiana Bor ex Fischer Under shrub Least Known Cherukonda & Biligirirangan Visakhapatnam Chamrajnagar 6 Dicliptera beddomei Clarke Justicia gingiana Sebastine & Ramamurthy Rostellualria vahlii (Roth) Nees var. rupicola Ellis Phlebophyllum jeyporensis (Bedd.) Bremek. Erect herb Shrub Type collection Type collection Nallamalais Kurnool Gingee hills Villupuram Prostrate herb Type collection Nallamalais Kurnool Scattered East Godavari, Visakhapatnam Gajapati 10 Nilgirianthus circarensis (Gamble) Bremek. Erect herb Upper Godavari, Visakhapatna m, MahEndanger eddragiri Visakhapatna m & Karlapat 11 Neuracanthus neesianus Clarke Santapaua madurensis Balakr. & Subram. Erect herb Erect herb Thunbergia fragrans Roxb. var. hispida Gamble Anacardiaceae Nothopegia heyneana (Hook.f.) Gamble Climber 3 4 7 8 9 12 13 14 Annonaceae Shrub Small tree Endangered Scattered Endangered Endangered Vulnerable Visakhapatnam Kalahandi Type collection Least Known Arcot hills Arcot Alagar hills, Tanjore Least Known Mahendragiri & Deomali Madurai (Alagar hills), Tanjore Gajapati, Koraput Scattered Dharakonda, Kolli hills Visakhapatnam Salem 15 Alphonsea madraspatana Bedd. Small tree 16 Uvaria eucinata Bedd.ex Dunn Scandent shrub Apiaceae Bupleurum andhricum Nayar & Banerji Erect herb *Pimpinella tirupatiensis Balakr. & Subram. Erect herb Asclepiadaceae Brachystelma ciliatum Arekal & Ramakrishna 17 18 Scattered Endangered Least Known Cuddapah, Visakhapatnam North Arcot, Khurda Russelkonda, Karachuli Least Known Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam Type locality Seshachalam Chittoor Erect herb Type collection Kolar Kolar Brachystelma glabrum Hook.f. Brachystelma kolarensis Arekal & Ramakrishna Erect herb Erect herb Type collection Type collection Palakonda Cuddapah Kolar Kolar Brachystelma volubile Hook.f. Caralluma indica N.E.Br. Twining herb Fleshy herb Least Known Scattered Palakonda Cuddapah 24 Caralluma lasiantha N.E. Br. Fleshy herb Scattered Anantapur, Chittoor 25 Ceropegia spiralis Wight. Tuberous climber Scattered Cuddapah, Chittoor 26 *Decalepis hamiltonii Wight. & Arn. Tuberous climber Scattered Rayalaseema 27 Heterostemma deccanense (Talb.) Swarup & Mangaly Wiry Climber 28 Oianthus disciflorus Hook.f. Toxocarpus roxburghii Wight & Arn. Climber Climbing shrub Asteraceae Cyathocline manilaliana C.Raju & R. Raju Notonia shevaroyensis Fyson Erect herb Scapigero us herb Type locality Type locality Erect herb Type locality Shrub Type locality Large tree Type locality 19 20 21 22 23 29 30 31 32 33 34 Pentanema indicum (L.) Ling var. sivarajanianum C. Raju & R. Raju Vernonia shevaroyensis Gamble Burseraceae *Boswellia ovalifoliolata Balakr. & Henry Caryophyllaceae Endangered Ganjam Vulnerable Endangered Endangered Nellore, Visakhapatnam , Chengalpattu, Villupuram Least Known Maredumilli, Upper Sileru East Godavari Khammam Least Known Least Known Nallamalais Kurnool Maredumilli, Sapparlu East Godavari, Visakhapatnam Adilabad Shevaroys Salem Nallamalais (Upper Ahobilam) Shevaroys Kurnool Nallamalais, Seshachalam Kurnool, Chittoor, Cuddapah Salem 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 Polycarpaea corymbosa var. longipetala Srinivas. & Narasimh. Celastraceae Maytenus bailadilliana (Narayan & Mooney) D.C.S. Raju & Babu Cleomaceae Cleome chelidonii L.f. var. pallai C.S. Reddy & V.S. Raju Cleome viscosa L. var. nagarjunakondensis Sund.-Ragh. Combretaceae Combretum albidum G.Don var. cooperi (Haines) Saxena & Brahmam *Terminalia pallida Brandis Convolvulaceae Argyreia arakuensis Balakr. Crassulaceae Kalanchoe cherukondensis Subbarao & Kumari Cordiaceae Cordia domestica Roth Cucurbitaceae Trichosanthes anaimalaiensis Bedd. Dipterocarpaceae *Shorea tumbuggaia Roxb. Ebenaceae Diospyros ebenum Koenig ex Retz var. acuminata Haines Euphorbiaceae Bridelia cinerascens Gehrm. Chamaesyce linearifolia Sojak var. nallamalayana (Ellis) V.S. Raju & P.N. Rao Chamaesyce senguptae (Balakr. & Subr.) V.S. Raju & P.N. Rao Erect herb Type locality Shrub Scattered Erect herb Type locality Pakhal Warangal Erect herb Type collection Nagarjunakon da Guntur Climber Type collection Large tree Type locality Seshachalam Kurnool, Chittoor, Cuddapah Climbing shrub Type collection Araku Visakhapatnam Fleshy herb Type collection Cherukonda Visakhapatnam Small tree Scattered Palakonda, Chengalpattu Cuddapah, Chengalpattu Least Known Nallamalais Mahabubnagar Climber CR Seshachalam Chittoor Visakhapatnam , Kalahandi, Koraput, Bastar Koraput Lofty tree Scattered Chittoor, Cuddapah, Nellore, Chengalpattu Large Tree Least Known Small tree Scattered Erect herb Type locality Nallamalais Kurnool Erect herb Least Known Nallamalais, Chengalpattu Cuddapah, Kurnool, Chengalpattu Champagarh, Kuntagaon Khol Nayagadh, Angul Cuddapah, Nellore, Chengalpattu 50 Croton scabiosus Bedd. Small tree Least Known Nallamalais Cuddapah, Kurnool 51 Dimorphocalyx kurnoolensis R. Raju & Pullaiah Glochidion tomentosum Dalz. Small tree Type locality Erramalais Kurnool Homonoia intermedia Haines *Phyllanthus indofischeri Bennet Small tree Linkarpara Visakhapatnam , East Godavari, Ganjam Angul 52 53 54 Small tree Vulnerable Scattered Least Known Scattered Erect herb 55 Phyllanthus narayanaswamii Gamble Erect herb 56 Small tree Least Known Upper Sileru, Mahendragiri Visakhapatnam , Gajapati Shrub Type collection Khandagiri Khurda 58 Lasiococca comberi Haines (Homonoia comberi (Haines) Merr.) Flacourtiaceae Flacourtia indica (Burm.f.) Merr. var. innocua (Haines) Sax. & Brahm. Hypericaceae Hypericum gaitii Haines Shrub Least Known Simlipal Mayurbhanj 59 Lamiaceae Leucas diffusa Benth. Diffuse herb Least Known 57 Endangered Chittoor, Cuddapah, Kurnool Least Known East Godavari, Visakhapatnam East Godavari, Salem 60 Leucas indica (L.) R. Br. var. nagalapuramiana (Chandr. & Sriniv.) Moulali & Pullaiah Erect herb Type collection Nagalapuram hills Chittoor 61 Leucas mollissima Wall. var. mukherjiana Subbarao & Kumari Leucas mollissima Wall. var. sebastiana Subbarao & Kumari Leucas mollissima Wall. var. silvestriana Subbarao & Kumari Leucas mukherjiana Subbarao & Kumari Erect herb Type collection Cherukonda Visakhapatnam Erect herb Type collection Araku Visakhapatnam Erect herb Type collection Visakhapatna m Visakhapatnam Type collection Visakhapatna m Visakhapatnam Type locality Seshachalam Chittoor, Cuddapah Scattered Seshachalam, Chengalpattu Cuddapah, Chittoor , Chengalpattu 62 63 64 65 66 Malvaceae Decaschistia cuddapahensis Paul & Nayar Decaschistia rufa Craib Malpighiaceae Villous herb Endangered Shrub Shrub Endangered 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 Aspidopteris hutchinsonii Haines Mimosaceae Acacia campbelli Arn. Climber Vulnerable Least Known Small tree Vulnerable Scattered Russelkonda, Similipal Ganjam, Mayurbhanj East Godavari, Krishna, Nellore Sambalpur Ganjam Acacia donaldii Haines Albizia orissensis Sahni & Bennet Albizia sikharamensis Sahni & Bennet (awaits a final decision, could be Acacia caesia (L.) Willd.) Albizia thompsonii Brandis Small tree Small tree Mimosa barberi Gamble Shrub Type collection Tummaluru Anantapur, Cuddapah, Mahabubnagar, Angul, Dhenkenal East Godavari Shrub Type locality Sapparla hills Visakhapatnam Shrub Type collection Madgula hills Visakhapatnam Small tree Type collection Type collection Angul Small tree Type collection Angul Large tree Scattered NallamalaisSe shachalam Kurnool, Chittoor, Cuddapah Erect herb Type collection Shadnagar Mahabubnagar Erect herb Type collection Cuddapah Scattered Melastomataceae Memecylon jadhavii K.N. Reddy, C.S. Reddy & V.S. Raju Memecylon madgolense Gamble Meliaceae Aglaia haslettiana Haines Toona ciliata Roem. var. brevipetiolulata (Haines) Mishra & Panigr. Toona ciliata Roem. var. hainesii (C.DC.) Mishra & Panigr. Myrtaceae *Syzygium alternifolium (Wight) Walp. Papilionaceae Alysicarpus mahabubnagarensis Raghavarao et al. Alysicarpus monilifer (L.) DC. var. cuddapahensis Almeida & Almeida Atylosia cajanifolia Haines Scattered Type collection Type collection Small tree Large tree Vulnerable Small tree Under shrub 83 Crotalaria clarkei Gamble Erect herb 84 Crotalaria clavata Wight & Arn. Erect herb Vulnerable Endangered Bamra Nallamalais (Srisailam, way to Sikharam) Scattered Kurnool Angul Least Known Araku, Pottangi East Godavari, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam Ganjam, Kalahandi, Bastar Visakhapatnam Koraput Least Known Salem Salem 85 Crotalaria filipes Benth. Erect herb Endangered 86 Crotalaria longipes Wight & Arn. Under shrub Endangered 87 Crotalaria madurensis Wight var. kurnoolica Ellis & Swamin. Crotalaria paniculata Willd. var. nagarjunakondensis Thoth. Crotalaria rigida Heyne ex Roth Crotalaria sandoorensis Bedd. ex Gamble Erect herb Erect herb 91 88 89 Erect herb Vulnerable Under shrub Endangered Indigofera barberi Gamble Under shrub Vulnerable 92 Mucuna minima Haines Climber 93 *Pterocarpus santalinus L.f. Large tree 94 Rhynchosia beddomei Baker Under shrub 95 Rhynchosia hainesiana Thoth. Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers. var. maritima Haines Rubiaceae Gardenia gummifera var. gummiferoides Haines Ophiorrhiza chandrasekharanii Subbarao & Kumari Lasianthus truncatus Bedd. 90 96 97 98 99 Sanigaram Karimnagar Palakonda, Shevaroys Cuddapah, Salem Type locality Nallamalais Kurnool Type locality Nagarjunakon da Nalgonda Least Known Least Known Scattered Type collection Scattered Bamra Sambalpur South Eastern Ghats Rayalaseema, Chengalpattu, Salem, Dharmapuri Cuddapah, Chittoor, Anantapur Under shrub Erect herb Type collection Type locality Angul Shrub Type collection Bamra Sambalpur Erect herb Type collection Vankachinta Visakhapatnam Shrub Least Known Visakhapatnam , Gajapathi Scattered Krishna, Nellore, Visakhapatnam , Koraput, Chengalpattu Cuddapah (ex Beddome) Pavetta madrassica Bremek. Shrub 101 Wendlandia angustifolia Wight & Arn. Small tree 102 Wendlandia gamblei Cowan Small tree Vulnerable Nellore, Krishna Bellary (Sandoor hills), Dharmapuri, Salem Chittoor, Cuddapah, Kurnool, Salem, S. Arcot Scattered 100 Rutaceae Least Known Least Known Extinct Least Known Scattered Balasore Seshachalam East Godavari, Visakhapatnam 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 Triphasia reticulata Smith var. parviflora Santapau Sapotaceae Isonandra villosa Wight Sterculiaceae Eriolaena lushingtonii Dunn Eriolaena hookeriana Wight & Arn. var. viridis Haines Hildegardia populifolia (Roxb.) Schott. & Endl. Spiny shrub Type locality Seshachalam Cuddapah Small tree Vulnerable Scattered Veligonda hills Nellore Small tree Vulnerable Type locality Type collection Nallamalais Kurnool Small tree Small tree Endangered Scattered Heritiera kanikensis Majumdar & Banerjee (awaits a final decision, could be H. fomes) Verbenaceae Premna calycina Haines Small tree Type collection Small tree Least Known Premna latifolia Roxb. var. mucronata (Roxb.) Clarke Violaceae Hybanthus vatsavayii C.S. Reddy Small tree Least Known Erect herb Scattered MONOCOTYLEDONAE = LILIOPSIDA Commelinaceae Commelina hirsuta Clarke Murdannia juncoides (Wight) Rolla Rao & Kammathy Cyperaceae Lipocarpha reddyi Hooper Eriocaulaceae Eriocaulon echinulatum Mart. Hydrocharitaceae Halophila ovalis (R.Br.) Hook.f. ssp. ramamurthiana Ravi & Ganesan Liliaceae *Urginea nagarjunae Hemadri & Swahari Orchidaceae Erect herb Vulnerable Erect herb Vulnerable Angul Least Known Scattered Anantapur, Chittoor, Cuddapah, Salem, Villupuram Kendrapada (Bhitarkanika) Mayurbhanj, Angul, Nayagadh Mayurbhanj Khammam, Nalgonda, Warangal Shanigaram hills Nallamalais Karimnagar Cuddapah, Kurnool Erect sedge Least Known Nalgonda, Khammam Erech herb Type collection Motijharan Sambalpur Submerged herb Least Known Theetapuram Nellore Bulbous herb Type collection Veligonda hillls, Bhata village Nellore 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 Aphyllorchis montana (Thw.) Reichb.f. Bulbophyllum kaitiense (Wight) Reichb.f. Bulbophyllum panigrahianum Misra Corymborkis veratrifolia (Reinw.) Bl. Dendrobium ovatum (Willd.) Kranz Eria meghasaniensis (Misra) Misra Habenaria panigrahiana Misra Habenaria panigrahiana Misra var. parviloba Misra Habenaria ramayyana Ramachandrachary & Wood Liparis vestita ssp. seidenfadenii Misra Vanilla wightiana Lindl. Poaceae Arthraxon depressus Stapf ex Fischer Arthraxon lanceolatus (Roxb.) Hochst. var. echinatus (Nees) Hack. Arundinella setosa Trin. var. lanifera Fischer Epiphyte Vulnerable Epiphyte Vulnerable Least Known Least Known Type collection Scattered Epiphyte Vulnerable Epiphyte Vulnerable Scattered Seshachalam Chittoor Simlipal Mayurbhanj Tuberous herb Tuberous herb Type collection Type collection Type collection Mohana hills Ganjam Bhanjanagar Ganjam Tuberous herb Type collection Nallamalais (Amrabad) Mahabubnagar Tuberous herb Leafless epiphyte Type collection Scattered Mahendragiri Gajapati Epiphyte Epiphyte Vulnerable Erect grass Vulnerable Erect grass Seshachalam Chittoor Chittoor, Salem Simplipal Mayurbhanj Seshachalam Cuddapah Chittoor, East Godavari, Salem Least Known Scattered Khammam Mahabubnagar, Rayalaseema Erect grass Vulnerable Type collection Chrysopogon velutinus (Hook.f.) Bor Iseilema venkateshwarluii Satyavathi Dimeria mahendragiriensis Ravi, Saxena & Brahm. Dimeria mooneyi Raizada ex Mooney Erect grass Type collection Type collection Cuddapah Erect grass Type collection Gajapathi Erect grass Least Known 136 Dimeria orissae Bor Erect grass 137 Oropetium roxburghianum (Steud.) S.M.Phillips Oryza jeyporensis Govind. & Krish. Erect grass Vulnerable Least Known Least Known 132 133 134 135 138 Prostrate grass Mogilikuppa Cuddapah Guntur Raissili, Sonabera Koraput Salem, Koraput Nellore Erect grass Least Known Biorgumma, Boipariguda Koraput 139 Panicum fischeri Bor Erect grass Vulnerable Least Known Seshachalam Chittoor, Cuddapah 140 Paraphyparrhenia bellariensis (Hack.) Clayton Pineria kollimalayana Mohanan & Rao Erect grass Vulnerable Least Known Gooty, Bellary Anantapur, Bellary Erect grass Type collection Kolli hills Salem 141 142 Themeda mooneyi Bor Erect grass 143 Themeda saxicola Bor 144 Tripogon jacquemontii Stapf Erect grass Erect grass 145 Tripogon wightii Hook.f. Erect grass Vulnerable Vulnerable Type collection Type collection Scattered Raissili Koraput Least Known Seshachalam Koraput Chittoor, Mahabubnagar Chittoor (Type collection: Known from Type Collection only; Type locality: Known from Type Locality; Least Known: Least known in herbaria and field; Scattered: Species with discontinuous range of distribution) * Species marked with asterisk are prioritised for conservation, C.A.M.P., 2001 (Andhra Pradesh) Table 2. Analysis of endemic species based on their unique distribution record S. No. Category No.of species 1 2 3 Species known from type collection Species known from type locality Species least known in herbaria and field (less than 5 records) Species with discontinuous scattered distribution Grand total 47 21 No.of redlisted species 3 3 41 36 145 21 17 44 4 Table 3. Analysis of Red listed endemic species as per threat category Category S.No. 1 2 3 4 Extinct Critically Endangered Endangered Vulnerable Total No. of species % of species 1 1 15 27 44 2.3 2.3 34.1 61.4 100 Table 4. Analysis of endemic species as per habit S. No 1 2 3 4 Habit Trees Climbers Shrubs Herbs Total No. of species 32 12 24 77 145 % of species 22.1 8.3 16.6 53.1 100 Table 5. Analysis of endemic species as per vegetation type distribution S.No. 1 2 3 4 5 View publication stats Habit Semievergreen Moist Deciduous Dry Deciduous Scrub Coastal Total No. of species 22 67 49 4 3 145 % of species 15.2 46.2 33.8 2.8 2.1 100