During 2014-2015 one clump of Dendrocalamus giganteus flowered at Garh Mukteshwar Farm, Hapur in Uttar Pradesh, India. Part of the clump flowered during May, 2014 and died in July after yielding little amount of seeds; the remaining part flowered in next year June and died by August 2015 without any seed setting.  Past reports and present study showed that occasionally the species also flower completely and die with or without seeds; in some instances, a few flowering clumps rejuvenated to vegetative state. D. giganteus rarely flowered sporadically but not reported gregariously and might have more than one flowering populations (cohorts). A plantation of 165 clumps of D. giganteus was raised through available seedlings and studied their growth performance. The clump height, culm diameter, and number of full grown culms produced per clump in 3rd and 5th year of plantation are presented and discussed. The majority of clumps exhibited satisfactory growth after 5th year of age. No disease and growth abnormalities were noticed in any clumps in the plantation.

The present study was conducted to investigate the orchid flora in 15 reserve/proposed reserve forests under Digboi Forest Division of Assam to assess their habitat ecology for occurrence reorganization. Presently 111 numbers of orchid species were recorded, of which 92 species were epiphytic while merely 19 species were found with terrestrial habit. Terrestrial orchids have shown much localized occurrence, maximum number occurring in Upper Dihing RF, which is part of rain forest Dihing Patkai National Park. Host range of epiphytic orchids revealed 27 species, Lagerstroemia speciosa sheltered highest number of orchids followed by Dipterocarpus retusus, Tectona grandis and Bischofia javanica. In view of the documented species 24.45% of the total species were Rare, 3.64% vulnerable, 3.64% near threatened, 6.36% endangered and 2.73% critically endangered making the area a significant orchid habitat. Forest destruction, drastic depletion of forest areas and illegal mining activity have detrimental effects on the population of orchids.

The paper deals with 45 species of ethnomedicinal plants collected from the Narendranagar forest Division, Uttarakhand.

The present study was conducted to determine the effect of various grades of Prinsepia utilis (bhekal) seeds on germination and seedlings performance during storage. Freshly collected seeds were grouped into three sub-lots viz. large size seeds (size 10 mm or > 10 mm), medium size seeds (size < 10 mm and > 7 mm), and small size seeds (size < 7 mm) with the help of specified sieves. Seeds of all grades were sown in nursery beds as fresh and after 35 days of storage. Various grades of seeds had shown significant effect on germination percentage as fresh and after 35 days of storage. Large size seeds exhibited significantly higher germination percentage, lower mean germination time, and higher germination values as compared to medium and small size seeds. Only small size seeds significantly exhibited lower germination percentage, higher mean germination time (MGT), and lower germination values as compared to large and medium-size seeds. However, no significant difference was observed in Germination Value (GV) and germination percentage between large and medium size seeds. The large size seeds exhibited a significantly good value of seedling length, the number of leaves, collar diameter, total biomass, vigour index, sturdiness quotient, volume index and quality index as compared to medium and small size seeds.

The present study deals with 59 species of plants used as herbal cosmetics by the tribes of East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh.

Amongst the plants which have grasped the aesthete of humans, those categorized within the angiosperm plant family Marantaceae have acquired significance. A list of such plants is being provided along with description for laymen’s ease in identification. Inventorization of further arrowroots and their bio-prospecting will lead to India’s emergence as a key player in horticultural scenario.

A study was undertaken to document supply and value chain of three important medicinal plants Embelia tsjeriam cottam, Celastrus paniculatus and Centratherum anthelminticum. Value chain analysis (VCA) was done from village level, district, regional to national level covering primary producers (n-144), market traders (n-20) and processors. Supply chains for three species were mapped and value chains covering most activities as produce moved across to industries were covered. The study revealed that the three species were mostly extracted from the wild and of these two species Embelia tsjerian-cottam and Celastrus paniculatus were facing depletion. There is an unfair margin to traders, with producers’ shares ranging between 35-50% which is low. Suggestions have been given to mitigate problems in the marketing channel.