Emilia fosbergii Nicolson of the family Asteraceae is reported here as new record for Indian flora from Jharkhand state. Brief description, illustration and photographs are provided in this article to aid field identification.

Silvipastoral land use systems are one of the most socially accepted agroforestry system types of Himachal Pradesh, which contributes significantly in fulfilling daily livelihood needs, conservation of soil and water, improving soil fertility and in climate change mitigation. Therefore, the present study was conducted in silvipastoral systems existing in different agroclimatic zones of Himachal Pradesh to assess the floristic composition and to suggest suitable management options. Agroclimatic zone I and II were found richer in plant diversity with the presence of 278 species each representing 38 trees, 54 shrubs and 186 herbs and 40 trees, 55 shrubs, 183 herbs respectively. Whereas agroclimatic zone III, showed representation of 257 species 19 trees, 41 shrubs, 197 herbs, and in zone IV, representing with 233 species, 17 trees, 20 shrubs, 196 herbs were found. Among these, 54 species were categorized under threaten status based on IUCN’. Therefore, assessment of natural populations, demand and supply studies, harvesting trends, developments of propagation methods, plantation of highly preferred species and community awareness for sustainable utilization and conservation has been suggested.

The agricultural productivity degradation due to toxic weed is one of the various causes of economic losses in developing countries. Ageratum conyzoides L. is major crop weed that is a threat to native flora as it competes with crops for the same resources. The current study was undertaken to investigate the allelopathic action of A. conyzoides on germination and seedling growth of Phaseolus vulgaris L. and Cicer arietinum L. Aqueous extracts of weed at various concentration (control, 10%, 20%, 30%, 50%) were obtained to assess their impacts on test crops. In this experiment, the maximum reduction in seed germination was 37% and 50% for P. vulgaris and C. arietinum respectively. The higher reduction in plumule length (3 cm) and radicle length (2 cm) of P. vulgaris and plumule length (3 cm) and radicle length (2 cm) of C. arietinum was observed at 50% concentration of weed extracts. The phytotoxicity of the A. conyzoides for both crops were increased with elevated concentration and decreased at the low concentration of weed extract. Therefore, the present results revealed that the weed phytotoxicity was concentrations depended. An appropriate weed control strategy is essential to mitigate weed impacts on crops.

The study examines the wood microstructure of three Morus species (M. alba, M. serrata, and M. laevigata), belonging to the family Moraceae. Wood samples were sourced from the Xylarium of the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. Standard procedures were followed for slide preparation, and anatomical features were recorded per the International Association of Wood Anatomists (IAWA) guidelines. Common characteristics, such as vasicentric paratracheal parenchyma, prismatic crystals, broad vessels, multiseriate rays and VRPs, are recognized as generic features while variations in wood porosity, fiber septation, shape of IVPs and helical thickening in vessels, features helped differentiate the species. The study noted both qualitative (conservative and constant) and quantitative wood anatomical features, likely influenced by environmental factors, and used the data to create a dichotomous identification key.

This study delves into the analysis of bark texture images of common trees using deep learning methods to efficiently classify different wood species. With applications spanning from construction to furniture manufacturing, efficient and precise wood species classification is vital for effective forestry management and the timber trade. The research centers on a dataset featuring images of 50 distinct wood species, each characterized by unique texture patterns. Two deep learning models, Wide Residual Networks (WRN) and ConvNeXt, are employed and compared for their analysis purposes. Results consistently demonstrate WRN's superior performance, attributed to its architectural design and effective training strategy in capturing intricate texture patterns. Notably, WRN achieves impressive efficiency alongside high accuracy, precision, and recall rates of 97.23%, 97.29%, and 97.23%, respectively. WRN's success over the pre-processed dataset underscores its versatility and robustness in handling complex texture patterns. Overall, the study showcases the transformative potential of deep learning in revolutionizing tree species classification.

The present study broadly focused on regeneration status, biomass, and carbon stock of Tectona grandis (teak) in three tropical moist deciduous forests, viz. Fatasil Reserve Forest (FRF), Gotanagar Reserve Forest (GRF), and Jalukbari Reserve Forest (JRF) of Kamrup Metropolitan district, Assam, Northeast India. The stratified random quadrat method was employed and individual no. of adult trees, saplings, and seedlings in the quadrats, and girth at breast height (GBH) of adult trees were recorded and used for calculating density and basal area respectively. Regeneration status was checked from the densities of seedlings, saplings, and adult trees. An allometric formula was employed to calculate biomass and carbon stock of the species. Teak exhibited good regeneration status (seedlings>saplings>adult trees) in JRF and GRF, while fair regeneration status (seedlings>saplings-¹), carbon stock (22.12-76.83 Mg C ha^-¹), and CO₂ equivalent (81.19-281.98 Mg ha^-¹) in the study sites. Therefore, the study is fundamental for intending a conservation strategy for teak and to raise awareness among the local people about its significance in mitigating global warming and climate change.

Jasminum adenophyllum subsp. saparlaense subsp. nov. (Oleaceae) is described and illustrated from the Saparla hills of Alluri Sitharama Raju district, Andhra Pradesh. The new taxon is closely related with the typical subspecies adenophyllum by its leaf shapes and sizes, inflorescences but differs by its villous stem, bracts and calyx.

Mazus motuoensis W.B.Ju, Bo Xu bis & X.F.Gao (Mazaceae), a newly described species from China, has been discovered, collected and recorded for the first time from the state of Arunachal Pradesh in Indian Himalayan Region (IHR).

Mitrasacme Labill. represented by M. pygmaea R.Br. var. pygmaea collected from Cinque Wildlife Sanctuary, South Andaman is reported here as new distribution record to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Taxonomy, technical description, distributional map and a photo plate are provided for easy identification.

The mangrove associate Suaeda maritima (Amaranthaceae) formerly placed in the family Chenopodiaceae usually thrives in the estuaries, creek banks, backwaters, salt pans and salt marshes of coastal habitats and is documented for the first time from the southern Indian inland lake of Tamil Nadu. Detailed taxonomic and ecological observations were provided for this ecologically important species.