Endemic Flora of Peninsular India and its Significance

Abstract

There is comparatively high degree of endemism in Peninsular India and thus the flora is distinct. Blasco (1971) has estimated about 1,268 endemic dicotyledons in South India. The Peninsular India has an endemic concentration of 32% while rest of India has about 27% endemics. Out of the 304 families of flowering plants recorded from India, there is not a single endemic family. In this paper the phytogeography of endemic genera and characteristic endemic species of Peninsular India are analysed in relation to its distribution and affinities. The distribution is also analysed in relation to plate tectonics.

The endemic angiosperms of Peninsular India consist of about 56 genera and they are distributed over 25 families. The families with the largest numbr of endemic genera are Gramineae (10 genera) and Acanthaceae (9 genera). There are about 2100 endemic species in Peninsular India of which 890 are woody species, 254 semi-woody and the rest 859 are herbaceous species. The endemic flora of Peninsular India is considered to be old one and the nature of endemics is analysed in terms of phytogeography, taxonomy and palaeobotany. The dynamics of characteristic endemic genera and their speciation is given. According to the analysis, majority of the endemics are palaeoendemics belonging to humid tropic belt. Wherever interphase of climatic shifts occur with different ecotones some endemic genera show epibiotic speciation.