Two Dorylaimid nematode species, Aporcelaimellus baeticus Sergio Alvarez-ortega et al., 2013 and Xiphinema parachambersi Maria et al., 2018 are new for India, recorded from Rajaji Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand, India. These species are reported from India after original description. 

A new species, Indigofera thoothukudiensis is described and illustrated.

Bistorta longispicata Yonekura & H.Ohashi (Polygonaceae), is an uncommon species reported here as a new record to Indian flora. The species earlier known only from China has been recently collected for the first time from Samiti Lake area of West District, Sikkim, India; at an altitude of 4177 m. The detailed description along with a photo-plate of dissected parts is provided herewith.

Community managed forest in the foothills of Dhauladhar range supports the livelihood of rural communities by supplying a range of provisioning services. However, baseline data on the vegetation composition of this forest is still lacking which is otherwise very important to assess the status of forest in sustaining the flow of ecosystem services (ES). Present study therefore aimed to quantify its vegetation structure and composition. Encroachment of  Ageratina adenophora in the forest fringes has not only deteriorated the vegetation composition but has also affected the quality of soil leading to loss of native herbs and grasses causing decline in  fodder availability for the livestock. Due to improper management measures, the invasive species is spreading fast to other interior areas. This has serious implications for the sustenance of the provisioning services for the rural people including water retaining capacity of the forest ecosystem. Hence, proper management interventions are needed for the conservation of this forest so that the flow of ecosystem services continues for a long term.

The Polypodiaceous genus, Arthromeris, is detailed from India, where it occurs only in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent. As with most fern-genera many more synonyms have been named than there are species known, especially in neighbouring China.  The 11 species known from India are referred to their correct names and synonyms have been identified from study of their types.  Detailed distributions are also provided from material seen, along with explantory notes concerning their taxonomy and nomenclature. Various previous reports are corrected where necessary including erroneous conclusions from some recent publications in the area.

Lepisanthes ferruginea (Radlk.) Leenh. (Sapindaceae), formerly known from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and recently reported from Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Present collection from the semi evergreen forests of Malabar Wild Life Sanctuary, Kozhikode, Kerala. Description, photographs and identification key has been provided for its easy identification. 

Saccharum bengalense Retz. is reported as an addition to the Flora of Andhra Pradesh, collected from Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The detailed description and photo plate is provided for easy identification.

The present paper is an attempt to document the data on invasive alien species occurring in Col. Sher Jung National Park, Sirmaur district, Himachal Pradesh along with their implications in conservation perspective. A total of 39 species belonging to 19 angiospermic families are enlisted as invasive alien species from the national park. The purpose of introduction of alien species also discussed along with their nativity. 

The introduction, occurrence and distribution of wild populations of Sesamum radiatum Thonn. ex Hornem. in India along with taxonomic notes on the nomenclature and identification of the species have been discussed in detail. The earlier reports of the taxon from Eastern & Western Ghats and elsewhere due to errors in identifications clarified and a field key furnished to facilitate the correct identity. Color photographs of the plant parts are also provided for easy field identification. The present collection from the West Coast of Kanniyakumari district forms an addition to the flora of Tamil Nadu and to the strand flora of India as well.

The genus Elatostema J.R. Forster & G. Forster, belonging to the family, Urticaceae is reported here as an addition to the Flora of Rajasthan.

Zephyranthes candida (Lindl.) Herb. collected from Mahendragiri hills, Gajapati District, Odisha is reported here as a new distributional record for the state of Odisha. Brief botanical description, nomenclature, ecology and phenolgy of this taxon is provided along with photographs for easily identification.

Bathelium porinosporum Lücking, M.P. Nelsen & Gueidan is reported as a new record for Indian lichen  mycota. A key to all known Indian species is provided to facilitate their identification.

Ameenpur Lake is located in Medak district of Telangana State. It was recently declared as “Biological heritage” site in state of Telangana under section-37 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. This lake is breeding habitat for the migratory birds in the winter season, keeping this in view, it was declared as biological heritage site. The present inventory of floral resources was carried out during the period 2016-18 around the Ameenpur Lake. During the study period an intensive exploration was done and all flowering plant species were documented. The study revealed the occurrence of 180 flowering plant species belonging to 62 families.

A new grass species collected from the Ayyamalai forests, Bolampatti hills of Coimbatore district, the Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, is described and illustrated here. The new species is morphologically similar to T. bromoides but differs by having the culms up to 90 cm high; 5–28 cm long sparsely scabrid leaves with acuminate tip; spikelets with 6 –10, linear, fertile florets; upper glume 5 –5.5 mm long with ca. 1.5 mm long mucro at apex, lemma elliptic - oblong, 3–3.5 mm long; central awn from sinus 2.3–3 mm long; palea 2-keeled, ciliate, without setae at obtuse apex and anthers 0.9– 1.1 mm long.

We studied the Agasthyamalai region of the Western Ghats to identify and prioritize potential areas to declare as Conservation Reserves using biological and social values in the southern Western Ghats. In this two phase study, throughthe desktop analysis (ERDAS Imagine, IRS-LISS4 data) identified four major forest patches  viz., Kallar (24.05 km2), Ponmudi (57.17 km2), Chankili (119.64 km2) and Achancovil (7.55 km2) under the Palode and Kulathupuzha Forest Ranges of Thiruvananthapuram Forest Division (FD) and Achancovil Range of Achancovil FD. Second phase aggregated data pertaining to above four patches on presence of  climax type of forests, biological wealth indicated by species richness, presence of endemic and critical species of plants and animals (vertebrate species excluding mammals) and indigenous peoples’ reliance on natural resources like water and NTFP. An overlay analysis using Arc GIS 9.1, the thematic layers have been created and subsequently integrated to infer the hierarchy within the four patches. The highest weighted average conservation value (=117.5) was scored by Ponmudi, followed by (=100) Chankili and (=90) Achancovil, where as lowest score of 67.5 attributed to Kallar patch. Highest dependency value of 40 was attributed to Achancovil, followed by Ponmudi and Chankili equally scored (=35), while the Kallar scored only 25. Based on sum of conservation and dependency values, Ponmudi patch stands out with highest priority (=152.5) in Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve, and others trail behind respectively.

The Sal (Shorea robusta) dominated forest vegetation of Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, West Singhbhum, Jharkhand, India was explored to evaluate the diversity and vegetation structure through different phyto-sociological attributes. The knowledge of the structure and composition of the plant communities has enormous significance in conservation of managed forests, therefore, the plant species diversity, structure and importance value index (IVI) at various levels, viz., trees, shrubs and herbs were studied. A total of 153 plant species (66 trees, 30 shrubs and 57 herbs) belonging to 124 genera of 51 families were recorded from the 30 random plots marked for sampling within the sanctuary. The IVI was highest in Shorea robusta (40.87) and lowest in Syzygium salicifolium (1.08). Shannon-Weaver’s diversity index was recorded highest in herbaceous species (3.66) than in trees (3.08) and shrubs (2.66). Simpson’s index was highest in trees (0.106) than in shrubs (0.035) and herbs (0.028). Pielou’s index was found highest in herbs (0.064) than in shrubs (0.048) and trees (0.046) which was within the range reported for different Indian forests and also which indicates that the sanctuary exhibits species diverse forest. The result of plant species diversity and their quantitative features reveal that the overall community is heterogeneous.

Floristic surveys were carried out in the Baraila Lake Salim Ali Jubba Sahni Bird Sanctuary, Bihar from 2016 to 2018. In the study, a total of 180 species of the angiosperms were collected. The documented species are distributed into 133 genera, 48 families and 26 orders. Among the 48 families, the dominating family was Poaceae (34 spp.), followed by Asteraceae (17 spp.), Cyperaceae (13 spp.), Malvaceae (10 spp.), etc. As for habit, it was found that 154 species were herbaceous (85.55%), 17 climbers (9.44%) and 09  shrubs (5%). According to IUCN criteria 57 species tall under “Least Concern” category and entries are not available for rest of the plants. Fimbristylis griffithii Boeckeler, reported as new distributional record for the state of Bihar was also collected. The present study enumerates the wetland flora.

A recent exploration and study on bryophytes of Eastern Ghats’ area of Andhra Pradesh has revealed the occurrence of two pleurocarpous mosses viz., Thuidium assimile (Mitt.) A. Jaeger and Anomodon minor subsp. integerrimus (Mitt.) Iwatsuki as new addition to the moss flora of South India. A detailed morpho-taxonomical account and illustration of these taxa are provided.