Biodiversity Data Journal : Taxonomic paper
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Corresponding author: Ramchandra D. Gore (ramdgore@gmail.com)
Academic editor: Thomas Couvreur
Received: 25 Nov 2014 | Accepted: 12 Jan 2015 | Published: 16 Jan 2015
© 2015 Krushnadeoray U. Garad, Ramchandra D. Gore, Sayajirao P. Gaikwad.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Garad K, Gore R, Gaikwad S (2015) A Synoptic Account of Flora of Solapur District, Maharashtra (India). Biodiversity Data Journal 3: e4282. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.3.e4282
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The present paper provides the first systematic and comprehensive account of the flora of Solapur district of Maharashtra (India). The flora of this region demonstrates a wide range of species diversity and growth forms. The vegetation of the district mainly represents tropical dry deciduous forests, thorny open scrub and vast grasslands. During the present work, a total of 1441 taxa belonging to 699 genera and 125 families of flowering plants were recorded. A new species Crinum solapurense Gaikwad et al. is described. Fabaceae is the dominant family with 210 taxa, followed by Poaceae (157 taxa), Asteraceae (85 taxa), Malvaceae (68 taxa) and Euphorbiaceae (48 taxa). Acacia is the largest genus with 25 taxa, followed by Euphorbia (23), Cyperus (22), Crotalaria (19) and Ipomoea (19). The herbaceous flora of the district is notable as it amounts to 56.21% of the whole of flora. The ratio of indigenous woody to herbaceous components is 1:1.28. The proportion of indigenous taxa (978) to the cultivated ones (460) is 1.35: 0.5 in the district.
Flora, Taxonomy, Solapur, Maharashtra.
The Solapur district in India is named after its town headquarter 'Solapur' believed to be derived from two words 'sola' meaning sixteen and 'pur' meaning village. The district is predominantly an agrarian tract endowed with a variety of natural resources in the plains of Bhima, Sina and Man Rivers. The climate of the district, in general is dry and extreme. The vegetation is divided into tropical dry deciduous forests (
In Maharashtra, the recorded history suggests that the plant taxonomists were attracted by the forests of Western Ghats. Surprisingly, none had shown any interest in the plants of drought prone region of Maharashtra in general and of Solapur district in particular. There is absolutely no plant collections for the Solapur district anywhere. The botanical exploration in the district remained rather neglected. In spite of high plant diversity and luxuriant vegetation, stray references are found to the plants of the district in well known floras such as 'Bombay Flora' (
The district of Solapur lies between 17°10' N - 18°32' N and 74°42' E - 76°15' E. The district is fairly well defined to its west as well as to its east by the inward-looking scarps of Phaltan Range and the Osmanabad Plateau respectively. Though of an irregular shape, the district is roughly square, 200 km east - west and 150 km north - south. The district has a total area of 14,844.6 sq km and it is divided into eleven-revenue tahsils (
During the period of five years i.e. from 2009 to 2013, field visits of 2–3 days duration were undertaken to collect plants from selected localities. During the present study, a total of 1441 field numbers comprising about 4467 specimens were collected and deposited in the Herbarium of Walchand College of Arts and Science, Solapur (MS), India. While carrying out the floristic survey, every effort was made to collect the plants in all three seasons viz. pre-monsoon (April–May), monsoon (June–September) and post-monsoon (October–March). Special attention was paid to under or unexplored remote areas of the district. In addition to the collection of wild plants, the efforts were made to collect weeds, which cover a wide range of ecological habitats. Cultivated plants have also been collected as the work was undertaken to study the flora of the district. All the collected specimens processed for drying by using regular drying method with blotting papers and newspapers (
Habitus of some important plants in situ.
Habitus of some important plants in situ.
Results
In the present work, authors have provided information on the floristic diversity of Solapur district of Maharashtra, India for the first time. A total of 1441 taxa (including infraspecific ranks) belonging to 699 genera and 125 families of flowering plants have been recorded of which about 860 species are documented for the first time. An assessment of the total constituents of the flowering plants of the district shows that the Core eudicots taxa outnumber those of the monocots. The herbaceous taxa of the district is notable as it amounts to 56.21% of the whole of flora. Fabaceae and Poaceae are dominant in herbaceous vegetation in terms of number of species and frequency percentages indicating favorable climatic and edaphic factors for agriculture in the district. Aristida, Cenchrus, Chloris, Cymbopogon, Cynodon, Dichanthium, Dactyloctenium, Dinebra, Eragrostis, Euclasta, Heteropogon, Lophopogon, Melanocenchris, Mnesithea, Paspalum, Sehima, Setaria and Themeda are dominant grass genera in the study area. Acacia catechu, A. chundra, A. leucophloea, A. nilotica, Bauhinia racemosa, Butea monosperma, Capparis divaricata, C. grandis, Euphorbia tirucalli, Lannea coromandelica, Morinda citrifolia, M. coreia and Ziziphus caracutta are common trees in Solapur district whereas Hardwickia binata, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Miliusa tomentosa, Terminalia arjuna, T. bellirica, Pterocarpus marsupium and Wrightia arborea are rare in occurrence. In spite of dry or semi-arid general climate of the district, the notable amount of climbers/twiners (10%) occur in Solapur district. Some of them are Aspidopterys cordata, Boerhavia boissieri, Clitoria ternatea, Cocculus hirsutus, Ctenolepis garcinii, Diplocyclos palmatus, Jasminum auriculatum, Mucuna pruriens, Operculina turpethum, Passiflora edulis, Tinospora sinensis and Ventilago denticulata. Solapur district harbors great deals of wealth of vegetables, cereals, pulses and fruit crops due to its varied climatic and edaphic conditions. Mangalveda tahsil of the district is popularly known as store-house of Jawar (Sorghum) of the Maharashtra State. About 15 local varieties of Sorghum are traditionally cultivated in the district under different local names viz. Boru, Dagadi, Gulbhendi, Kakla, Kuch-kuchi, Lal-jawari, Maldandi, Pawli, Shalu, Tambadi-Jawari, Vandi etc. These varieties are important genome of Sorghum crop.
Most of the talukas except some part of Barshi taluka depict thorny scrub forest; the barren hills of this area should be afforested with deciduous elements, which are wild, indigenous and adaptable to dry climate. Solapur district has the forest area about 0.94% (
In conclusion, therefore, it may be said that the district has a far better potential of plant wealth than was supposed earlier and needs a further careful investigation.
The plants of Solapur district shows wide range of species diversity and growth forms (
List of families with number of genera and species including infraspecific taxa.
Sr. No. |
Family |
Genera |
Species |
Subspecies |
Variety |
Forma |
Species including infraspecific taxa |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ANITA Grade |
|||||||
1 |
Nymphaeaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
MAGNOLIDS |
|||||||
2 |
Piperaceae |
1 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
2 |
3 |
Aristolochiaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
4 |
Magnoliaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
5 |
Annonaceae |
4 |
6 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
6 |
MONOCOTS |
|||||||
6 |
Araceae |
14 |
21 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
21 |
7 |
Hydrocharitaceae |
4 |
6 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
6 |
8 |
Potamogetonaceae |
2 |
3 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
3 |
9 |
Dioscoreaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
10 |
Pandanaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
11 |
Colchicaceae |
2 |
4 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
4 |
12 |
Smilacaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
13 |
Orchidaceae |
2 |
1 |
----- |
1 |
----- |
2 |
14 |
Hypoxidaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
15 |
Iridaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
16 |
Xanthorrhoeaceae |
2 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
2 |
17 |
Amaryllidaceae |
7 |
13 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
13 |
18 |
Asparagaceae |
13 |
27 |
----- |
3 |
----- |
30 |
19 |
Arecaceae |
17 |
22 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
22 |
20 |
Commelinaceae |
6 |
17 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
17 |
21 |
Pontederiaceae |
2 |
3 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
3 |
22 |
Strelitziaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
23 |
Heliconiaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
24 |
Musaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
25 |
Cannaceae |
1 |
3 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
3 |
26 |
Marantaceae |
2 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
2 |
27 |
Costaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
28 |
Zingiberaceae |
3 |
3 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
3 |
29 |
Typhaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
30 |
Eriocaulaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
31 |
Cyperaceae |
11 |
42 |
4 |
1 |
47 |
|
32 |
Poaceae |
68 |
141 |
----- |
16 |
----- |
157 |
EUDICOTS |
|||||||
33 |
Ceratophyllaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
34 |
Papaveraceae |
3 |
4 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
4 |
35 |
Menispermaceae |
3 |
3 |
----- |
1 |
----- |
4 |
36 |
Ranunculaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
37 |
Nelumbonaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
38 |
Proteaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
CORE EUDICOTS |
|||||||
39 |
Crassulaceae |
2 |
5 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
5 |
40 |
Vitaceae |
4 |
7 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
7 |
CORE EUDICOTS: ROSIDS |
|||||||
41 |
Zygophyllaceae |
3 |
4 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
4 |
42 |
Fabaceae |
66 |
176 |
8 |
24 |
2 |
210 |
43 |
Polygalaceae |
1 |
4 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
4 |
44 |
Rosaceae |
1 |
5 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
5 |
45 |
Rhamnaceae |
2 |
7 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
7 |
46 |
Ulmaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
47 |
Cannabaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
48 |
Moraceae |
3 |
14 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
15 |
49 |
Urticaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
50 |
Casuarinaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
51 |
Cucurbitaceae |
15 |
21 |
----- |
9 |
----- |
30 |
52 |
Begoniaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
53 |
Celastraceae |
3 |
3 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
3 |
54 |
Oxalidaceae |
3 |
5 |
----- |
1 |
----- |
6 |
55 |
Euphorbiaceae |
14 |
48 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
48 |
56 |
Ochnaceae |
1 |
----- |
----- |
1 |
----- |
1 |
57 |
Phyllanthaceae |
4 |
12 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
12 |
58 |
Elatinaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
59 |
Malpighiaceae |
4 |
5 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
5 |
60 |
Putranjivaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
61 |
Passifloraceae |
2 |
4 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
4 |
62 |
Salicaceae |
3 |
4 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
4 |
63 |
Violaceae |
2 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
2 |
64 |
Linaceae |
1 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
2 |
65 |
Geraniaceae |
2 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
2 |
66 |
Combretaceae |
3 |
9 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
9 |
67 |
Lythraceae |
6 |
13 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
13 |
68 |
Onagraceae |
1 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
2 |
69 |
Myrtaceae |
4 |
7 |
----- |
1 |
----- |
8 |
70 |
Burseraceae |
2 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
2 |
71 |
Anacardiaceae |
6 |
6 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
6 |
72 |
Sapindaceae |
4 |
5 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
5 |
73 |
Rutaceae |
6 |
13 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
13 |
74 |
Simaroubaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
75 |
Meliaceae |
5 |
7 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
7 |
76 |
Muntingiaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
77 |
Malvaceae |
27 |
58 |
2 |
8 |
68 |
|
78 |
Bixaceae |
2 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
2 |
79 |
Tropaeolaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
80 |
Moringaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
81 |
Caricaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
82 |
Salvadoraceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
83 |
Capparaceae |
3 |
10 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
11 |
84 |
Cleomaceae |
1 |
5 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
5 |
85 |
Brassicaceae |
9 |
10 |
1 |
3 |
----- |
14 |
CORE EUDICOTS: ASTERIDS |
|||||||
86 |
Santalaceae |
2 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
2 |
87 |
Tamaricaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
88 |
Plumbaginaceae |
1 |
3 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
3 |
89 |
Polygonaceae |
5 |
6 |
----- |
1 |
----- |
7 |
90 |
Caryophyllaceae |
4 |
5 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
5 |
91 |
Amaranthaceae |
12 |
27 |
----- |
3 |
----- |
30 |
92 |
Aizoaceae |
3 |
4 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
4 |
93 |
Nyctaginaceae |
4 |
6 |
----- |
2 |
----- |
8 |
94 |
Molluginaceae |
3 |
7 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
7 |
95 |
Basellaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
96 |
Portulacaceae |
1 |
3 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
5 |
97 |
Cactaceae |
4 |
4 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
4 |
98 |
Cornaceae |
1 |
----- |
1 |
----- |
----- |
1 |
99 |
Balsaminaceae |
1 |
----- |
----- |
1 |
----- |
1 |
100 |
Polemoniaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
101 |
Lecythidaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
102 |
Sapotaceae |
3 |
3 |
----- |
2 |
----- |
5 |
103 |
Ebenaceae |
1 |
5 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
5 |
104 |
Primulaceae |
1 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
2 |
105 |
Rubiaceae |
17 |
29 |
----- |
1 |
----- |
30 |
106 |
Gentianaceae |
5 |
7 |
----- |
3 |
----- |
10 |
107 |
Loganiaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
108 |
Apocynaceae |
35 |
42 |
1 |
2 |
----- |
45 |
109 |
Boraginaceae |
4 |
14 |
1 |
2 |
----- |
17 |
110 |
Convolvulaceae |
11 |
36 |
1 |
----- |
3 |
40 |
111 |
Solanaceae |
12 |
30 |
----- |
3 |
----- |
33 |
112 |
Oleaceae |
2 |
8 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
8 |
113 |
Gesneriaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
114 |
Scrophulariaceae |
15 |
18 |
----- |
3 |
----- |
21 |
115 |
Pedaliaceae |
1 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
2 |
116 |
Lamiaceae |
11 |
26 |
----- |
5 |
----- |
31 |
117 |
Orobanchaceae |
1 |
----- |
----- |
1 |
----- |
1 |
118 |
Lentibulariaceae |
1 |
2 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
2 |
119 |
Acanthaceae |
22 |
39 |
1 |
3 |
----- |
43 |
120 |
Bignoniaceae |
17 |
19 |
----- |
1 |
----- |
20 |
121 |
Verbenaceae |
12 |
16 |
----- |
3 |
----- |
19 |
122 |
Martyniaceae |
1 |
1 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
1 |
123 |
Asteraceae |
57 |
81 |
1 |
3 |
----- |
85 |
124 |
Araliaceae |
2 |
6 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
6 |
125 |
Apiaceae |
8 |
9 |
----- |
----- |
----- |
9 |
Showing statistical account of the flora of Solapur district.
Class |
Families |
Genera |
Species |
Infraspecific taxa |
---|---|---|---|---|
ANITA Grade |
01 |
01 |
01 |
--- |
MAGNOLIDS |
04 |
07 |
10 |
--- |
MONOCOTS |
27 |
167 |
321 |
25 |
EUDICOTS |
06 |
10 |
11 |
01 |
CORE EUDICOTS |
02 |
06 |
12 |
--- |
1) Rosids | 45 | 222 | 480 | 62 |
2) Asterids | 40 | 286 | 486 | 50 |
Total |
125 |
699 |
1303 |
138 |
Showing comparative account of taxa reported in different taxonomic works on Maharashtra State and Solapur district (Note: The figure in the parenthesis indicates account of the Bombay State including Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat, Baluchistan and some part of Rajasthan).
Name of the flora |
Families |
Genera |
Species |
Infraspecific taxa |
---|---|---|---|---|
Flora of The Presidency of Bombay (1958 Repr.) |
139 (147) |
849 (999) |
1938 (2513) |
94 (162) |
Flora of Maharashtra (1996 - 2002) |
187 |
1081 |
3025 |
166 |
The previous literature (1901 - 2012) |
----- |
----- |
578 |
----- |
Flora of Solapur District (Present work) |
125 |
699 |
1303 |
138 |
Showing ten dominant families in the order of dominance.
Sr. No. |
Families |
Number of taxa |
1. |
Fabaceae |
210 |
2. |
Poaceae |
157 |
3. |
Asteraceae |
85 |
4. |
Malvaceae |
68 |
5. |
Euphorbiaceae |
48 |
6. |
Cyperaceae |
47 |
7. |
Apocynaceae |
45 |
8. |
Acanthaceae |
43 |
9. |
Convolvulaceae |
40 |
10. |
Solanaceae |
33 |
Comparative account of ten dominant families reported in different taxonomic works and Solapur district.
Flora of the Presidency of Bombay (BSI) (1901 - 1908) |
Flora of Maharashtra State (BSI) (1996 - 2001) |
Flora of Marathwada (1998) |
Flora of Solapur District (Present work) |
Fabaceae |
Poaceae |
Poaceae |
Fabaceae |
Poaceae |
Fabaceae |
Fabaceae |
Poaceae |
Acanthaceae |
Cyperaceae |
Asteraceae |
Asteraceae |
Asteraceae |
Acanthaceae |
Cyperaceae |
Malvaceae |
Euphorbiaceae |
Asteraceae |
Euphorbiaceae |
Euphorbiaceae |
Rubiaceae |
Orchidaceae |
Acanthaceae |
Cyperaceae |
Orchidaceae |
Euphorbiaceae |
Malvaceae |
Apocynaceae |
Lamiaceae |
Rubiaceae |
Convolvulaceae |
Acanthaceae |
Scrophulariaceae |
Scrophulariaceae |
Rubiaceae |
Convolvulaceae |
Asclepiadaceae |
Malvaceae |
Mimosaceae |
Solanaceae |
List of top twenty genera represented by higher number of species in the flora of Solapur district.
Sr. No. |
Genus |
Number of taxa |
Sr. No. |
Genus |
Number of taxa |
1. |
Acacia |
25 |
11. |
Hibiscus |
10 |
2. |
Euphorbia |
23 |
12. |
Vigna |
10 |
3. |
Cyperus |
22 |
13. |
Leucas |
09 |
4. |
Crotalaria |
19 |
14. |
Corchorus |
08 |
5. |
Ipomoea |
19 |
15. |
Blumea |
08 |
6. |
Cassia |
18 |
16. |
Phyllanthus |
08 |
7. |
Alysicarpus |
14 |
17. |
Commelina |
08 |
8. |
Indigofera |
13 |
18. |
Desmodium |
07 |
9. |
Ficus |
13 |
19. |
Jasminum |
07 |
10. |
Fimbristylis |
12 |
20. |
Heliotropium |
07 |
Showing analysis of life forms of indigenous taxa.
Life form |
Number of species |
Percentage (%) |
---|---|---|
Herbs |
810 |
56.21 |
Shrubs |
247 |
17.14 |
Climbers/Twiners |
154 |
10.68 |
Trees |
230 |
15.96 |
The total number of species (including subspecies, varieties and forma) reported for Maharashtra as on to-day is 3191 (
To evaluate the dominant ten families a comparison has been made between major floras of the Maharashtra State such as 'The Flora of the Presidency of Bombay' (
The family Fabaceae shares maximum number of prominent genera whereas other families except Cyperaceae have only one prominent genus each (
The ratio of indigenous woody (631 taxa) to herbaceous (810 taxa) components is 1:1.28 and that of monocots (244 indigenous taxa) to Magnolids and eudicots (734 indigenous taxa) is 1:3 (
Analysis of life forms of indigenous taxa in flora of Solapur district (
Mere 23 endemic plant species occur in Solapur district which include Hardwickia binata Roxb. a monotypic tree genera, Ornithogalum saxorum (Blatt.) J.C. Manning & Goldblatt a critically endangered species and Dregea lanceolata (Cooke) Santapau & Wagh, (
In the present floristic work, the commonly cultivated species are also included in addition to indigenous ones. The proportion of indigenous taxa (978) to the cultivated ones (460) is 1.35:0.5 (
Authors are thankful to the Principal, Walchand College of Arts and Science, Solapur for providing available research facilities; Director, Botanical Survey of India, Pune (BSI); Incharge, Herbarium BAMU, Department of Botany, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad (MS) and the Curator, Blatter Herbarium, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai (BLAT) for providing herbarium services and to RGSTC, Govt. of Maharashtra State for financial assistance.
Analysis of life forms of indigenous taxa in flora of Solapur district.
Proportion of indigenous to cultivated taxa.