Abstract

Variability and diversity of Eclipta prostrata (L.)L., an important medicinal plant species, in its natural habitats in Kerala has been analyzed based on the observations on twelve salient growth characters recorded from twenty five accessions of the species distributed across Calicut, Malappuram and Palakkad Districts of Kerala State, India. Among the twelve characters studied, ten characters such as number of branches per plant, length of branches, number of leaves per plant, leaf length, leaf area, internodal length, number of inflorescences, peduncle length and fresh plant weight showed statistically significant variations between the populations. The attributes like plant height and leaf breadth did not vary much between the populations. Highly significant variability in the case of morphological characters indicates the strong genetic base of the plant species in the field providing it the genetic potential to overcome the threats of fragmentation and extinction in the study area. However, Eclipta prostrata being a fragile and herbaceous annual, drastic alterations in their habitats including filling of wet lands and crop conversion in paddy fields can pose serious threat thus making it rare and vulnerable in future.

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