BULL. BOT. SURV.

INDIA
Vol. 10, No. 1: pp. 6166, 1968

THE BOTANY OF BAILADILLA, BASTAR STATE, M. P,

C. M. ARORA
Botanical Survey of India, Dehra Dun

ABSTRACT
The paper gives an account of the botanical tour undertaken recently in the Bailadilla
area of Bastar State, Madhya Pradesh. A list of 109 species of flowering plants not previously
recorded for the area (Mooney 1942) is included.

INTRODUCTION GEOLOGY
The former Bastar State of Madhya Pradesh has Geologically, the rocks are of Dharwar age, and
received very little attention from the botanical are considered equivalent to the iron ore series of
point, of view. The region lies in the far interior Singhbhum.
in a tribal area and on account of the poor lines of The laminated hematite quartzite constitutes a
communication and the presence of tigers and other conspicuous horizon. Nodules of hematite are
wild animals, has remained largely unexplored. found in abundance at the foot-hills and the stream
Located at the intersection of the floristically beds, which sometimes show rich deposits of iron
interesting areas of the States of Uttar Pradesh, ore. The Bailadilla range contains vast resources
Bihar, Orissa and of Peninsular India, the territory of rich iron ore.
has rich promise of interesting floristic elements as RAINFALL
was visualised by Haines as far back as 1916. Bailadilla receives annually about 279 mm rainfall
Mooney undertook five exploration tours during during the year as recorded by Indian Bureau'of
the year 1936-40 and recorded his observations in a Mines. Highest precipitation is from June to Sep-
paper published in 1942. He did dot have, how- tember every year with an almost dry season
ever, all the facilities for reaching the inner pockets between December and April.
and he suggested that a fuller investigation of the
territory would p~oducemore fruitful results, In DRAINAGE
recent years Subramanyam and Henry (1966) have The northern twc~thirdsof the range drain into
published an account of the vascular plants of the Indravati through its tributaries Dankani and
Bastar. Sankam. Southern one-third drains into Sabri
The present account is based on a visit to Bailadil- through Mallinger. It is extremely hot and intoler-
la by.the author in Feb. 1963 when he accompanied able during the summer months, March to June,
Dr. G. Panigrahi for the collection of plants for the SOIL
herbarium of the Botanical Survey of India. Mostly the soil is red because of the presence of
TOPOGRAPHY granite, quartzite, hematite and shales, etc. The
Bailadilla lies between 18.30 & 19.5~North and soil colour changes from brown, yellow to grey of
81.10 & 81.15" East. Dantewara is the nearest town even black owing to variations in the iron contents
from Bailadilla and is located at a distance of about and imperfect hydration as a result o f ' imperfect
70 km. drainage.
The entire area lies in the northern catchment VEGETATION
of the Chdavari River. Bailadilla hill range is the The vegetation of the Bastanar and Chandanar
highest in the tract with the highest peak being forests which are at the foot-hills of the Bailadilla
1275 rn above s.1. The range extends for about 72 range closely resembles that of dry mixed forests.
km in length from North to South of Indravati Tectonn occurs at the lower elevation but is absent
River. The width of the range is hardly 8 km. This at higher elevation and at Bailadilla.
rises sharply on all sides and attains an altitude The main components of this area among the
d lr6o m for a major pan of its length, trees are Cochlospermum gossypium, Pter~carpus
62 BULLETIN OF THE BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA Pol. 10

marsupium, Garuga pinnata, Schleichera oleosa, They are seen to be stunted and charred and bent
Linociera intermedia, Bombax ceiba, Xylia xylocar- on one side.
pa, Terminalia chebula, T. tamentosa, Ficus semi- The grassland vegetation on the exposed hill
cordata, etc., and among the undershrubs and herbs tops is dominated by the perennial grass, Arundinel-
are Cipadessa baccifera, Casearia tomentosa, Dysc- la setosa associated with Themeda diandra, Cym-
horiste vagans, Wendlandia notoniana, Knoxja co- bopogon fulvus and others. This is interspersed
rymbosa, Rhinacanthus commu~is, Blumea spp., with stunted trees of Terminalia tomentosa, Phoenix
and Cardanthere: verticiltata. acaulis, Emblica oficinalis, Buchanania lanzan,
Thg main climbers met with are Milietti'a auricul- Zizyphus spp, and Acacia spp.
ata, Argyreia involucrata, lpomoea vitif~lia, etc. Cajanus cajan, Dysophylla quadrifolia, Vicoa
Near river banks and streams herbs like ~ h m a n r t i a indica, Polycarpaea corymbosa,, Knoxia corymbosa
cordata, A. multiflora, Rotala indica, Polygonum and a number of species of the Acanthaceae are
glabrum, P. pedunculare and Hydrolea zeylanica among the herbs which colour the grassland
are the common species. vegetation.
Among the grasses, Arundinella holcoides, CoeG Tree ferns, Cyathea spinulosa and Alsophila
achne pulchellu, Eragrostis coarctata, Themeda glabra along with other ferns like Angiapteris
triandra and Setaria plicata are quite common. evecta, Sphenomeris chusana and B'plazkum escu-
At higher elevations, a little change in the vege- lentum and other flowering plants, M e b -
tation is seen with the appearance of the high toma malabathricum, Strobilanthes callosus, S.
level plants like Bupleurum mucronatum, Adenos- reticulatus and Abutilon spp. form a thick cover in
temma lavenia, Osyris arborea, Vicoa cernua and swampy areas along the perennial 'nalas' and bank
various spp. of ferns. of streams flowing through grasslands near patches
The valleys and inner slopes of the hills in the of evergreen forests. The tree fern does not seem
crest of BaiIadilla hills, develop a tropical semi- to occur below xooo m.
evergreen/evergreen forests. Since it receives a re- Among the climbers met with are Clematis
cord rainfall of 279 cm annually, the hill tops and wightiana, Hiptage benghalensis, Rubia cordifolia,
the flat slopes are characterised by secondary grass- Pentatropis spiralis, Gnetum ula and Dioscorea
land-formation, whereas the outer slopes both on wightii. Cyanotis arachnoides was found only' at
the east and west sides develop a tropical mixed the highest peak over barren rocks.
evergreen/moist deciduous forests. As the clouds NOTEWORTHY FEATURES
permanently .remain on the hill tops as well as in Pennisetuw alopecuroides and the genus itself
the valleys during monsoon and because of heavy is absent from Bailadilla as reported by Mooney, but
rainfall, humidity is high and patches of subtropi- P. hohenackeri was found to occur at the faot-hills
cal evergreen forest with mosses and epiphytic ferns of BailadiUa range after Gedum where it is plentiful.
and orchids l i e Aen'des multiflorum, Rhyncho- Ficus sernicordata, F. virens. and F. tinctoris sub-
stylis retusa, Dendrobium denneanum, Asplenium sp, parasitica which are said to be confined to the
furcatum, A. heterocarpum, Pleopeltis spp., etc., foot-hills too have been collected at Bailadilh proper
covering the brancks are met with near hill tops at altitude above ~ooom.
bordering upon the highest peak (1275 m). Desmodium triquetrum, EZephanto@s scaber,
The mixed evergreen forest which presents a Andropaphis paniculata are also quite com&on at
compact canopy is dominated by T tomentosa, Bailadilla and Mallinger valley which is above
Xylia xylocarpa, Pterocarpus marsupium, Ficus 650 m altitude. They are not confined to lower
pemicordata, Emblica officinalis, bamboos like, altitudes below 650 m as stated by Mooney.
Oxytmanthera nigrociliata and Cephalostachyum It is also interesting to note the presence of Cochlo-
pergracile and Calamus spp. which occur rather spermum gossypium, Meliosma simplicifolia, Hydro-
profusely in such situations. During ~ ~ r i l - ~ very
une lea zeylanica and Tefiagocharis latifolia, belonging to
strong winds blow and cyclonic storms also occur four separate families, reported for the first time
with the result that many trees are uprooted. The from that area.
trees like Entblica ofiinahs, Rhus paniculatus, The voucher specimens have been deposited in
Terminalia arjuna, T. chebula, Xylia xylrcd~& the herbarium of the Botanical Survey of India
etc, which survive have their growth retarded. Central C,ircle, Allahabad.
19~~1 AROR.4 : THE BOTANY OF BAILADILLA, BAS'rAR STATE 69
ENUMERATION C, nanum I3uch.-Ham.
Note :The collectors' names for all the field On rocky mountain amidst grasses. Fairly com-
numbers given in the enumeration are G . mon, flowering, 6949.
Panigrahi and C . M. Arora. T e d a l i a arjona W. & A.
Abundant, fruiting, 6943.
RANUNCULACEAE
Clematis wightiana Wall. LYTHRACEAE
Scarce, fruiting, 6867. Ammannh cordata W. & A.
BI XACEAE Rooting in sandy loam of, river bank. Scarce,
fruiting, 6774.
C o c b l o ~ n n u mgossypipm (L.) DC. A. maltiflorn Roxb.
Hindi : Galgal. In sandy loam of river bank. Scarce, flowering &
Tree, rooting in the crevices of rock boulders on fruiting, 68 14.
slopes. Scarce, flowering, 1093. Rotala indica (Willd.) Koehne
MALVACEAE Rooting in wet places near -river banks. Scarce,
Sida cordata (Burm. f.) Van Borssum flowering & fruiting, 6770.
Along dried up nalas and waste lands. Not
UMBELLIFERAE
common, flowering, 6788.
Pimpinella heyneam Wall.
TILIACEAE
Scarce, flowering & fruiting, 6787.
Grewia b a r M J, R. Drummond
Scarce, fruiting, 1003. RUBIACEAE

BURSERACEAE Gardenia latltolia Ait.

Fairly abundant, .fruiting, 1019. Wood used for
Garuga p h a t a Roxb.
On hill slopes. Fairly abundant, flowering, I 106. making toys.
Hedyotis piinifolia Wall.
MELIACEAE Scarce, flowering, 6777.
Cipadessa baccifera (Roth) Miq. Oldenlandia umbdlah Li
In evergreen forest. Scarce, flowering & fruiting, On road sides and in sandy loam af river b'kks.
67-63,. 6978. Fairly abundant, flowering & fruiting, 6771, 6938.
SABIACEAE Pavetia indica L. var. tomentosp (Roxb.) Hook. f.
MeIiosma simplieifolia Walp. Fairly abundant, fruiting, IOI I.
On slopes. Scarce, fruiting, 6974. Wendlandis thywidea (R.& S.) Stelid.
On margins of hill forest. Fairly abundant,
LEGUMINOSAE
flowering, I og8.
Acecia torta (Roxb.) Craib
Climbing on 'sal' and other trees on hill slopes. COMPOSITAE
Scarce, fruiting, $05, 1082. Adenostemma lavenia (L.) -0. Kze, var, rolpwr
Atylosia volubiis Gamble ,(Hook.) Ram La1
Climbing on bushes. Scarce, flowering, 1004. On hill slopes. Common, flowering, 1042.
Banhinia vaiiegata L. Blumea clarkii Hook. f.
On foot hills. Fairly .common, flowering, I 105. Along nalas. Common, flowering, 6889.
Desmodium polyaupurn DC. B. eriantha DC.
Near nalas. Scarce, flowering 1048. A shade-loving herb in sandy soil. Scarce, flower-
Pbaseolue adenanthus G. F. Meyer ing, 6806.
Scarce, flowering, 1059. B. 6stPlosa (Roxb.) K u n
Shuteria vestita (W. & A.) jar. dens$tlora Bak. Along nalas. Fairly abundant, flowering, 6789,
In. evergteen forest. Scarce, fruiting, 6969, 6995. 6892.
COMBRETACEAE B. jacquemontii Hook. f.
cdycopteria floribmda Lam. On rocky soil. Fairly abundant, flowering, 6953.
Climbing on bushes in mixed forest. Common, B. 41s8m DC.
flowering, I I o 1, Along dried d a s , Common, flowering, 6789,
 64 BULLETIN OF THE BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

BIumerr mollis (Don) Merrill BIGNONIACEAE

On slopes in open and on road sides. Abundant, Heteropbragma quadriloculare K. Schum.
flowering, 6786. In mixed evergreen forest. Common, flowering,
Erechtitces valerianifolia DC. 1031.
On slopes near nalas. Common, flowering, 1065. ACANTHACEAE
Gnaphslium hypoleucum DC. Cardantbem verticillata C. B. Clarke
On open slopes. Common, flowering, 6862. In sandy soil near river banks. Scarce, flowering,
MYRSINACEAE 6776.
Ardida puciflora Heyne Dicliptera roxburghiana Nees
Near nalas. Abundant, flowering, 6925. On the margins of evergreen forest. Very rare,
flowering, 69 I I .
ASCLEPIADACEAE
Dyschoriste vagans 0. Kze.
Pentstropis spiralis (Forsk.) Decne. In dry mixed forest, Fairly abundant, flowering,
On the highest top of the Bailadilla hills. Rare, 6798, 6812, 1080.
fruiting, 6988. Erantbemum purpurascem Nees
GENTIANACEAE In dry mixed forest on slopes. Fairly abundant,
Exacum perrottetii Griseb. flowering, 6794, 1033.
On slopes amidst grasses. Common, flowering & Justicia peploides T. Anders.
fruiting, 6842. On hill slopes. Abundant, flowering, 6860.
Swertia corymboss Wt. Nilgirianthus reticulatue (Stapf) Brem.
Near stream. Common, fruiting, 6851. On rocky dopes. Common, flowering, 6952.
Rhinacanthus nasuta. (L.) Kurz
HYDROPHYLLACEAE
In the bamboo mixed forest. Common, flower-
Hydrolea zeylanica (L.) Vahl ing, 1076.
In sandy loam. Rare, flowering, 6779. Rungia peetinata (L.)Nees
BORAGINACEAE On rocky slopes. Fairly abundant,, flowering;
Cordia grandis Roxb. 6801, 6894, 6944.
On road sides. Fairly abundant, fruiting, 6955. Strobilanthes callosus Nees var. hispida C? B. Clarke
Near patches of evergreen forest. Abundant,
Cynoglolisum wallicbii G. Don
flowering & fruiting, 6844,
On slopes in mixed evergreen forest. Scarce,
flowering, 6998. VERBENACEAE
C. zeylanicam (Wall.) Thunb. ex Lehm. Clerodendrum viscosum Vent.
On hill slopes. Abundant, fruiting, 1025. On the margins of forest. Abundant, flowering,
RoEala aquatica Lour. 1014, 1070,
Rooting in the sandy bed amidst gneissic rock LABIATAE
boulders, Fairly abundant, flowering, 6766.
Coleue barbatus Bth.
CONVOLVULACEAE Near edges of evergreen forest. Fairly a b d ,
Argyreia involucrata C. B. Clarke flowering, 6907.
Climbing on bughes. Scarce, fruiting, 6820. Leucae 1-ta Bth. var. c o l l i Prain
Ipomoea a q d & Forsk. On slopes under shade. Abundant, flowering;
Rooting at nodes along nalas in damp sandy soil. 6835, 6898.
Common, flowering, 6993. AMARANTHACEAE
Merremia vitifolia (Burm. f.) Hall.
In mixed forest. Fairly abundant, flowering, Aewa sangninolenta (L.) BI.
1108. On rocky slopes. Common, flowering, 6950.
LENTIBULARIACEAE POLYGONACEAE
U t r i m exoleta Br. Polygonurn chinenfie L. var. ovalifolia Meissn.
A floating plant in water. Common, flowering, Near nalas on slops. Abundant, flowering,
I4 6 . 6834-
19681 ARORA: 'HE BOTANY OF ~ A ~ L A D ~ L L A ,
BASTAR STATE

Polygonnm glabnnn Willd. DIOSCOREACEAE

On sandy alluvial banks of river. Fairly abundant, nioworea angui. Roxb.
flowering, 6762. Climbing on bushes and trees on slopes. Fairly
abundant, fruiting, 1073,
LORANTHACEAE
D. wightii Hook. f.
Dendrophthot falcata (L. f.) Etting. On bushes and trees in dry mixed forest on slopes.
Hemiparasite on trees. Common, flowering, 1056. Abundant, fruiting, 6957.
Taxillos tomentosus (Roth) Tieghem
LILIACEAlE
Hemiparasite on trees. Scarce, flowering, ABD.
Polygonatom oppddfoUom Royle
EUPHORBIACEAE
On slopes. Scarce, fruiting, 1053.
Euphorbia neriifolia L, Smilax p r o l k a Roxb.
On the edges of evergreen forest towards drier On trees in mixed evergreen forest. Abundant,
aspects. Common, flowering, 6906. flowering, 6869, 6897.
PhyUanthus debilis Buch.-Ham. Stem used for cleaning teetl~.
Amidst grasses on slopes. Fairly abundant,
S. zeylanica L.
flowering & fruiting, 6899, 6947, 6804. On trees and bushes in mixed evergreen. forest.
-
URTICACEAE Fairly abundant, fruiting, 68 I 9.
Ficus BBmico~daCaBuch,-Ham. ex Sm. Stem used for cleaning teeth.
On hilt slopes. Abundant, fruiting, 6962. COMMELINACUE
F. tinctorhi Forst. f. subsp. pamclitica Corner var. Commelina ~ c o s Bl.. a
p&umitica In humous forest floor. Common, in vegetative,
On hill slopes. Scarc,e, fruiting, 68 18. 687 I .
F. virem Ait.
LIMN0 CHARITACEAE
6 n hill slopes. Abundant, fruiting, 1077.
F: migacarpa L. f. s-'I latifolia (D. Don) Buchen.
T h e smallest in size aniong Ficzcs species, on On slopes in mixed evergreen forest. Scarce,
slopes. Common, 108%~ flowering, 68 I I.
Th@a involucrata L. ERIOCAULACEAE
Glimbing on bushes on slopes. Common, fruit-
Eriocaulon cuspidatam Dalz.
ing, 6994. In sandy wet soil of running stream. Common,
ORCHIDACEAE
flowering, 6864.
Deadrobium de~eannmKerr E. truacah Buch.-Ham.
E p Scarce, fruiting, 1034. In sandy wet soil. Common, flowering, 6778.
D. bacwm Lindl.
CYPERACEAE
Epiphyte forming big clusters, Abundant, flower-
ing, 688 I. Carex baccaaa Nees
D. nobile Lindl. Under shade near nalas. Common, fruiting,
Epiphyte. Scarce, fruiting, 1023. 6837.
Geodoroln sp. Cyperus rotandw L.
Terrestrial near moist places. Scarce, fruiting, In the crevices of rock boulders. Abundant,
flowering, 6769.
falconerl, Hook. f. GRAMINEAB
OPE""
piphyte, Scarte, fruiting, 6810. Aplada mdca L.
Rbynchoetyliu retusa (L.) B1. In dry mixed forest. Fairly abundant, flowering,
Epiphyte. Fairly abundant, in vegetative, 6983. 6797.
Saccalobinm sp. Aridda depmma Retz.
Epiphyte. Fairly abundant, flowering & fruiting, On road sides and in forest. Fairly abundant,
6802. flowering, I I 10.
Vanda pauvillora Lindl, A. aetacea Retz.
Epiphyte. Abundant, fruiting, 6823. In rock crevices. Common, flowering, 6767.
66 BULLETIN OF THE BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA [VO~.10

h d i a e l l a bolcoides (Kunth) Trin. Iacbremum indicum (Houtt.) Merrill

Near edges of water. Fairly abundant, flowering, Along nalas as well as on open hillocks.
1044. Abundant, flowering, 6887, 6888.
Coelacbne simplicaoscuIa (W. & A.) Munro ex Microsteginm petiolare (Trin.) Bor
Benth. Near edges of stream. Common, flowering, 1009.
Rwting in between pebbles in sandy stream. Pennisetum bohenackeri Hochst e s Steud.
Flowering, 1052. In dry-mixed forests on slopes. Abundant, flower-
Dichenthid hnnlatum (Forsk.) 'Stapf ing, 1111.
In the alluvial soil. Common, flowering, 6768,
6803, 6805. ' Setaria glaaca (L.) P. Beauv.
On slopes. Common, flowering, 6863.
Mgitaria adskendem (H. B. & K.) Henr.
Near streams. Scarce, flowering, 1090. S. pkata (Lamk.) T. Cooke
Echinocbloa colonam (L.) Link. Near nalas. Scarce, fruiting, 6934.
Near streams. Abundant, flowering, 6772.
Era@ cmctah Stapf
On sandy mounds in open ground. Common, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
flowering, 7000. Grateful thanks are due to the Director, Botanical
E. gangetica (Roxb.) Steud. Survey of India, Calcutta for kind encouragement.
Along nalas. Scarce, flowering, 6891. The author is also indebted to Dr. G. Panigrahi for
Ediopsis binata (Retz.) C. E. Hubb. his guidance and permission for this publication.
On hill tops and slopes. Common, flowering,
6986-
Wema Iwmn Hack. REFERENCES
Forming a mat on forest floor. Scarce, flowering, HAIN~S, H. H. DCSCriptive list of trees, shrubs and economic herbs
1020. of Southern Circle, Central Prop. Allababad, 1916.
MOONEY,H.F. A sketch of the P l o ~ aof Baiiadilla Range in
Isrchee dispet Trin. Burtar State. I& For. Rcc. 3 : 197-253, 1942.
On rocky slopes near stream. Abundant, fruiting, SUBRA~ANYAM, K.AND A. N. HENRY. Vascular plants oflastar,
A x A. Madhya Pradesh. Bull. bat. S w . India 8 :207-215, 1966.