PHYTOSOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MEDICINAL PLANT SPECIES, THALICTRUM JAVANICUM BLUME IN THOTTABETTA, NILGIRIS, THE WESTERN GHATS

Abstract

Phytosociological study is the most essential in any community to know its structure and organization. The various qualitative characters obtained are used to determine the level of distribution, numerical strength and degree of dominance exhibited by the constituent species in the community. Thalictrum javanicum belongs to the family Ranunculaceae family, it is medium sized erect herb, found in the temperate Himalayas from Kasmir to Sikkim in Khasi hills, and Kodaikanal and Nilgiri hills of Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, India. At global level, it is generally distributed in the hilly tracts of India, Srilanka, China and Java at the altitude of around 2400 m above msl. The present study was undertaken in Thottabetta , the Nilgiris by sampling using belt transects of 10x1000m size which further divided into 100 segments each which 10x10m size. The total number of species encountered in the study area is 45 which includes 5 grasses and 40 forbs. The quantitative ecological characters of the study species, T. javanicum is a detailed below: frequency 11%, abundance 3.82 individuals/m2, density 0.42 individuals/m2, basal cover 172.20/mm2/ m2, relative frequency 0.55% and relative density 0.08%, relative dominance 0.16%. Based on the ecological attributes it is determined that the species, T. javanicum is less perpetuated in the community studied. Hence, further studies on the determination of propagation strategies for population enhancement and conservationof wilds are suggested.