A Study on Plant Diversity of Iringole Kavu, Ernakulam, Kerala State

Rogimon Plammoottil Thomas¹, Arya Lakshmy Thanamcheril Illam Sreekumar¹, Joby Paul² and Salvy Thomas^3*

¹Department of Botany, CMS College Kottayam (Autonomous), Kerala State, India.

²Department of Botany, St.Thomas College (Autonomous), Thrissur, Kerala State, India.

³*Department of Botany, St. Berchmans College (Autonomous) Changanacherry, Kerala State, India.

Corresponding Author E- mail: salvythomas@rediffmail.com

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bbra/3147

ABSTRACT: Sacred groves are the patches of pristine forest that nurture rich biodiversity and play a principal role in the conservation of endemic and rare species. The present study was conducted to identify and enumerate the plant diversity of Iringole Kavu (sacred grove) of Ernakulum district of the state of Kerala. A total of 142 plant species were documented which include three vulnerable species and 18 endemic species. Among them 129 are angiosperms, two are gymnosperms, seven are pteridophytes and four belong to fungi. Angiosperms include 36 herbs, 23 shrubs, 41 trees and 29 climbers. Fabaceae, Rubiaceae, Moraceae, Acanthaceae and Apocynaceae are the dominant angiosperm families. The study revealed the occurrence of two critically endangered plant species viz. Ixora johnsonii (Rubiaceae) and Vateria indica (Dipterocarpaceae).

KEYWORDS: Biodiversity; Conservation; Endemic; Kavu; Sacred Groves

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