Floristic diversity of Anjaneri Hills, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

High altitude plateaux are found throughout northern Western Ghats.  These plateaux harbor a great diversity of monsoon flora and endemism but are highly neglected due to the seasonality and harsh climatic conditions.  Anjaneri Hill is an important rock outcrop in northern Western Ghats.  It is the type locality of Ceropegia anjanerica.  As an attempt to make a floristic inventory of an important area, a preliminary study was undertaken.  A total of 385 flowering plants from 68 families have been reported from Anjaneri protected area in the present study, of these 114 are endemics.  Out of these 114 species, 81 are endemic to India while 33 taxa are endemic to the Western Ghats.  Anjaneri rock outcrop shows great floral diversity due to varied microhabitats.  The observations on phenology and adaptive traits were recorded.  The data on geology and geomorphology is presented in order to understand the geological nature of the rock outcrop.  Intensive study on varied microhabitat is needed for the documentation of floral diversity existing on the Anjaneri Hill.