BULL. BOT. SUliV.

INDIA
Yol. 11, NOS.3 & 4 : gp. 217-223,1969

SURVEY OF PLANT RESOURCES OF INDIA AND ITS USE*

Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta

India has a varied climate with high mountains (I) Exploration of the plant resources of the
on the north and bounded by sea on three sides. country and maintenance of the collections in
This has resulted in a rich flora of tropical, sub- the Central National Herbarium and the Re-
tropical, temperate and alpine vegetation. In gional Herbaria.
I-Iooker's Flora of British India published in seven (2) Preparation of the regional floras and the
volumes (I872-g7), about I 4,384 species of the Flora of India.
higher plants or Angiosperms were reported. This (3) Assessment of the collections and mainten-
Flora, however, included territories now in Paki- ance of plants in the Botanical Gardens.
stan, Ceylon, Burma, Malaya and Singapore. Still,
(4) Experimental studies in difrerent branches of
the pesent day India may include about ~z,ooo
species. Systematic Botany and Plant Utilization.
The Botanical Survey of India is concerned with (5) Maintenance and developinent of the plant
a survey of the plant resources of India. -4t the products Museum.
initial stage during late nineteenth and early During the period 1953-68, the Botanical Survey
twentieth century, pioneer work was done by the of India had been engaged mainly in organisa-
British scientists in exploring the country and pre- tional activity in establishing the headquarters at
paring the Flora of British India. They also estab- Calcutta and the five Regional Circles at Coimba-
lished the Herbarium at Calcutta for dried speci- tore, Poona, Dehra Dun, Allahabad and Shillong
mens and the Royal Botanic Garden at Calcutta for with experimental gardens attached .to them. Ex-
growing valuable living specimens of botanical and ploration. work in all these regions were initiated
utilitarian value. Subsequently, regional floras were and the collections properly maintained and identi-
published giving information on plant resources in fied, along with the previous collections of the
Flora of Madras (Gumble, 1915-36),Flora of Bombay Herbaria at the Agricultural College, Coimbatore;
(Coohe, 1901-08), Flora of Upper Gangetic Plain Agricultural College, Poona; the Forest Herbarium
(Duthie, 1903-zz), Bengal Plants (Prai~i, 1903)~ at Shillong; which were handed cver to the Botani-
Botany of Bihar and Orissa (Haines, 1921-25),Flora cal Survey of India by the respective state govern-
of Assam (Kanjilal, Ror et a1 1934-40), etc. Thesc ments ; the total collection at each place now num-
are the basic work, which even now supplies valu- bering 6,48400 (Central National Herbarium,
able information on the plant resources of India. Calcutta), 1,g7,654 (Coimbatore), I ,og,752 (Poona),
The utilitarian value of the plants have been inten- 44,8 I o (Dehra Dun), 85,980 (Shillong) and 25,263
sively studied in the Industrial Section of the Indian (Allahabad). The Herbarium at Calcutta and the
Museum under the Botanical Survey, which pro- Indian Botanic Garden were also taken over by the
duced the monumental work on the Dictionary of Botanical Survey of India from rhe Government of
Economic Products of India by Sir George Watt West Bengal subsequently. The Central Botanical
(1889-96), now being revised as Wealth of India by Laboratory and the Headquarters organisation pro-
the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. vided nucleus staff in Cytology; Economic Botany,
After this brilliant work, the Botanical Survey was Physiology, Palynology, Ecology, Phytochemistry,
almost abolished. After independence, it was re- Pharmacognosy, Cryptogamic Botany and Horti-
vived in 1953 and the main functions involve: culture (at Indian Botanic Garden).

*Baed on A harkar Memorial Lecture, delivered to the Maharashtra Association for the cultivation of Science, Poona
on 2nd Sept., 19%.
2 18 BULLETIN OF THE BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA pol. II

Recently, the activities of the Botanical Survey value in relation to their utilization and botanical
of India have been reviewed, since the writer has studies, four experimental gardens have been estab-
taken over charge as Director in 1969 and a pro- lished at Shillong, Allahabad, Yercaud (near Salem)
gramme for the Fourth Five-year Plan has been and Poona. A bigger garden is proposed to be
worked out. The most importanr activity is the established at Delhi and a high altitude garden
decision to undertake intensive work for the pre- near Pauri at 2630 m, on the Western Himalayas.
paration of Flora of India at the Central National Two more Circles for the exploration of Arid Zone
Herbarium, which will soon be housed in the new and the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands
building within the Indian Botanic Garden at will be established soon. All this effort is expected
Calcutta. This flora will primarily contain the to make a good impact on plan.; resource studies
Angiosperm families with approximately I 2,000 and on an understanding of their distribution and
species. The work on Volume I containing 44 availability in the country. The rare and endanger-
families has been initiated and most of these ed species are in the process 'of collection for their
families are already under revision with the avail- maintenance in the Botanical Gardens.
able scientists both in and outside the Botanical As mentioned earlier, the Botanical Survey of
Survey of India. India has now launched the programme of pre-
To facilitate intensification of exploration work, paration of the new Flora of India, which will
a map has been prepared showing the unexplored, give a full account of the flowering plants of
under-explored and well-explored areas of the India. A detailed guideline for preparation of the
country. With more funds and staff, survey of the Flora has been made and circulated for opinion.
unexplored and under-explored areas has been taken The salient features are discussed below.
up on a priority basis from this year. We hope to It is more useful to have a complete Flora sum-
publish Volume I of Flora of India in 5-6 years and marising within a more or less uniform frame
also bring out some of the regional floras, of which work the known data concerning the native taxa
the Flora of Maharashtra is in an advanced stage. of Angiosperms that grow in India. What we
Flora of Bhutan and Goa, Daman and Diu are in wish to try is a semi-monographic and semi-com-
a final stage. pilation work, so that we could show some tangible
Most of the work undertaken on the floristic results in about 20 years on completion of the
survey by the staff of the Botanical Survey of India project. One of the main aim of the Flora is to
has been published in the Quarterly Journal 'Bul- identify the plants so that we can get its accurate
letin of the Botanical Survey of India'. It will be name. At the same time, the semi-monographic
observed that the recent stress on the plant re- nature would present critical taxonomic notes dis-
source inventory has led to discovery of a number cussing the variability, specific and generic delimi-
of new species. In the Ecology Section investigation tations which in a way impart critical elements to
on the coastal ecology has been nearing completion, this Flora.
which will lead to an understanding of the man- The present plan of work is not a revision of thei
grove vegetation of India and the role of plants as Flora of British India but a new project on the
dune formers. Flora of India.
Regarding cryptogamic plants, very limited Generally, the system of classification followed
work is under progress on the ferns and mosses. in a Flora is (i) the system, proposed by Engkr
Other groups of plants have not yet been tackled by and Prantle or (ii) the system proposed, by
the Botanical Survey except the marine algae, des- Bentham and Hooker. The latter system was
criptions of which with beautiful coloured plates followed in the Flora of British India and even
have been made by Srinivasan (1970). now followed in the Floras prepared by the British
From this brid report, it may be pointed out scientists. The former system has been used for
that the plant resource of the country is under Flora Europea and most of the other European
intensive exploration and study leading to the estab- Floras. In view of the fact that the herbaria
lishment and enrichm'ent of the Central National in India are arranged according to ~ e n t h a mand
Herbarium at Calcutta and the Regional Herbaria Hooker's system, we wish to follow the system of
men6oned above. For the purpose of growing Bentham and Hooker with some modifications in
living plants under collection, which may be of relation to the families. Families as listed in the
1969J MUKHERJEE : SURVEY OF PLANT RESOURCES OF INDIA AND ITS USE 219

Flora of British India will be revised and the pre- account the cytological, morphological, ecological
sent accepted family list as adopted at Kew will be and geographical evidences.
followed. Since the Flora is intended to be used not only
Illustrations are given in most of the Floras, as by the Botanists but by other scientists and also
they help in a critical understanding of the varia- development workers in India, it will be useful to
tions within a genus or a family. Simple line include within each species, thc local names by
drawings will be provided giving the diagnostic which they are known in individual States. As
features of a genus in one figurc, if possible, and, India has more than 15 States, it will be difficult to
also drawings of any critical species wherever include the local names used in all the States within
necessary. Similarly, the important differentiating the Flora, as it will be too bulky. Hence, 2 or 3
characters within the genera in a family may also important local names should be given after each
be given in a drawing? which would be useful to species. The rest of the local names in the various
understand the characters varying within a family. Stares will be given in a separate voli~meexplaining
There need not be any rigidity in this method but the meaning of such names wherever possible.
in general, this system is proposed to be followed. The species may be described in two parts viz. (ij
Another question is to be decided subsequently specific diagnosis in botanical terms and (ii) a short
whether the drawings be included in the body of statement of the important field characters.
the Flora or a separate volume sdded which gives Wherever possible, type specimens may be listed
all the drawings together so that those who are not without searching much for the same, but it is
interested in drawings lnay purchase the Flora a! essential to give the type locality if the species has
a lower pice. been originally described from India.
All the species, sub-species or varieties should be t e l ~ the description of species, the
I ~ ~ ~ m e d i aafter
defineable primarily in the external morphological distribution of species in India is to be given stating
terms but cyto-genetical, geographical and ecologi- the geographical features first and followed by the
cal evidences may also be utiliserl for their delimi- 'political States', viz. Southern Western Ghats-
tations. States Kerala, Mysore, Tamil Nadu.
The geographical boundary which will cover the The critical part of the Flora can be imparted in
Flora of India will be much different than was ori- the notes, under which the following information be
ginally included in the Flora of British India by given :
Hooker. On the basis of discussions with various (3 Critical taxonomic analysis.
authorities, the concensus arrived at is to include (2) Brief geographical data-This item has to be
the area in the political boundaries of India, Nepal, sgndardised on the basis of the accepted ecologi-
Bhutan and Sikkim, provided His Majesty's Govern- cal classification of vegetation in India, and the
ments of Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim agree to this information may be given first on ecological basis as
proposal. This will also help the three countries in used in Flora Europea like rockey, meadows etc.
having their floras worked out. (3) Chromosome numbers-This will be included
The description of individual species will be provided the proper identity of thc plant from which
limited to 60-100 words. It is not necessary to indi- counting was made is known. Another question to
cate a complete list of synonymy for each species. be decided regarding chromosome numbers is
Wherever required, the synonyms of plants which whether the information will be restricted to the
are recorded from India will be given. If any plant observation made on the plants collected from India.
listed in the Flora of British India or in the Regio- or reports on the same species grown or collected
nal Floras has been reduced to a synonym of a from other countries should be included. General
particular species, those names must be included.- consensus is to restrict the information to the former
But the Botanists should better &vote their time to group provided the correct identity of the speci-
the analysis of the plants and not on finding our !mens is known and preferably voucher specimen
their synonyms. The guides for the synonyms can be has been cited in the publication.
obtained from recent floras like Flora Malesiana, (4) Notes on economic importance-This will be
Flora Iranica, Flora of Turkey, Flora of U.S.S.R.and collated from the Wealth of India and also on the
several recent floras of Africa, to name a few. information obtained by the field staff while collect-
The species should be circumscribed taking into ing plants from the fields,
220 RI~I.LETINOF THE BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA [Vol. II

Aliens and introduced species may be given only inovements of people in different parts of the world.
when they have fully established so as to become 'The question of exploration and introduction of
the integral part of the Flora of India. plants for useful purposes has attracted the atten-
Cultivated plants which are grown in a hig scale tion of various botanists and agriculturists, and one
and introduced forest trees, fruits and vegetables of the important contributions, made to our know-
etc. may be included if a proper treatment is given, ledge has been by the famous Russian scientist,
as it will add to the value of thc volume to the Vavilov ( I 949-50) who made large-scale exploration
public. A short description indicating the forms, and collection from all over the world, and suggested
their wild progenitors and references to more detail.. nine major centres for their origin.
ed work, if available, will be helpful. India is the original home for some important
I have discussed so far the history and present crops like rice, brinjal, mango, banana, citrud
stage of work in relation to the survey and study (orange, lime, lemon) etc. The north-western H i m a
of the plant resources of India, culminating to the iayas has some grasses which have contributed to-
launching of work by Botanical Survey of Tndia in wards the origin of wheat.
preparation of the new Flora of India. Help from Many vegetables have originated in this area and
the specialists in the Universities and Institutions have been under cultivation for nearly 4,000 years.
like the Maharashtra Association for the Cultivation Mention may he made of Cucumber. Lagenari~i
of Science will be solicited, so that work an two .sicertrrzrr (Calabash gourd), L?c@ uctltangtrla (Kali
volumes can be taken at a time, which will help in tori), Trichosmtthes dioictl (Parwal), T anguzizfr
completing the work in a shorter period. Even help (Snake gourd), etc. There are 15 different
from foreign botanists will be solicited if they wish Indian species of Solanlrm which are armed wit11
to offer voluntary assistance in this project. spines and belong to the section of S. melongana L.
I shall now deal with the second part of my paper, De Candolle (1886) considered brinjal (Aubergine) to
as to what is its value and what is its use. Since have been in cultivation in lndia for the last 4000
the evolution of man, plants hare been the major years and according to Vavilov (1.c.) the Centre of
source of our sustenance by providing food, fibre, origin of this crop is Indo-Burma region. Though
timber, medicine, and many other products. The due to some later evidences Bhaduri (1951) opined
basic physiological requirement of the human beings that parallel evolution of this crop might have
is the supply of oxygen from the air, and the plants occurred in North Africa, he also confirmed earliest
have the main organisms in the evolution of oxygen record of this crop from India with many of its
through the physiological process 4uring photo- allied species.
synthesis after incorporating the carbon dioxide from Among vegetables, cultivated for their subterra-
the air and thereby maintaining the balance between nean parts, Taro (Colocasia antaquorum), Alocasia
these gases in the biosphere. In recent years, pollu- spp., many types of Yams like Dioscorea sativu,
tion of the air by interference of the human beings D.alata, D. aculeata etc., some species of Raphanris
to the biosphere is causing great anxiety. e.g. R. caudatus and R. indzczds (both for pod and
In view of the many uses that plants have provided roots) are important. These plants were under culti-
to man for his existence, the botanists and naturalists vation for more than zoo0 years. Many leafy vege-
have been greatly concerned about discovery of the tables like Amaranth, Sorrel (Rumex sp:), Fenu-
plant wealth of a country and bringing plants uilder greek (Trigonella sp.), Basella rubra, Lactuc,~
introduction in botanical gardens for thrir develop- indica etc. have originated here and have same old
ment. The knowledge about use of plants for f o ~ d history.
and other purposes has been gathered by trial and Among the fruits, this area is considered to be:
error by the human beings and the recorded history the possible centre of origin of Mango, the most
of the cultivation of crop ~ l a n t sis more recent dating important Indian fruit. There are many wild
6000 years back. Though the various crops are now forms of Mangifera indica and the allied species
grown all over the world, the initial domestication of M. sylvatica occurring in this I egion (~ukherjee,
the crops had taken place usually in one centre from 1949).
which it has been distributed to other parts of the Banana is considered as one of the oldest plant
world along with the progress of the human civili- to the mankind, even before they learned agriculture
zation and the exchange of knowledge through and used to depend on hunting and fishing.
 MUKIIERJEE : S U R ~ YOF PLAhlT RESOURCES OF INDIA AND ITS USE 22 1
19691

They used to eat the rhizome, stem, flower many of these have now heen separated into seven
and fruit of the plant, used broad leaves for thatch- allied genera. Nonetheless, as rightly pointed out
ing the roof of temporary huts fibre from the by Olmo (1969), these materials have not been
pseudustem for nets of fishing. History of this rhoroughly assessed for their desirable characters
plant can be traced in Indian scriptures and classics, as resistance to pest, disease and usefulness as root-
dating back to 5000 years. De Candolle (1.c.) stock.
placed Banana in the group of plants which are in Zizyphus jlrjuba (Indian jujube) is in cultivation
cultivation for more than 4000 ymrs and the region for more than four thousand years here (De Can-
is Southern Asia. Vavilov (1.c.) also shared this doile) and Mehra (1967) reported 23 species of
view. From the detailed study of the taxonomy, Zizyphzls from North-East India. Hara (1966)
geographical distri1)ution and cytogenetics of the found many Zizyphus species in this region.
genus Musa as a whole, Chakravorty (1951) opined This region is regarded either as primary or
that Assam-Burma-Siam-Indo-China is most likely secondary centre of origin of five important palms
the Centre of origin of not only the cultivated cf commerce-Coconut, Areca Palm (Areca catechu),
bananas but of all other taxonomic group of this Palmyra palm (Borassus flabellifera), Sugar palm
genus. This is the area where largest number of (Arenga saccharifera) and Wild date palm (Phoenix
species, some of which are endemic, have been silwstris).
recorded, where again all the basic sets of chromo- Among the fibre crops, this is an important
somes an= 18, ao, 22 and 33 arc found. Bananas centre for many variant forms of jute belonging to
have been found growing wild in the region of the species of Corchorus, i.e. C. capsularis and C.
North-Eastern Himalayas and it becomes very olitorius. There are also fibre yielding plants with
apparent if one visits this tract of Khasia Hill, many variant forms like Sesbania aculeata, Croto-
Upper Assam, etc. where both sides of the hills are laria juncea, Sida rhombifolia and hemp (Cannabis
full of bananas growing as under shrubs. indica L.).
This region is very rich in Citrus wealth. Tea is the most popular beverage, and it is used
Vavilov (1.c.) considered that important Citrus by nearly one half of the population of the world
fruits like sweet orange (C. sinensis), citron (C. (Hill, 1952). According to De Candolle (Is.), tea
med:ica), sour orange (C. aurantiuin), and sour lime (Camellia sinensis) was in cultivation' in Assam for
(C. auranlifolia) are found here both cultivated the last 4000 years. Many allied species for tea (of
and wild. Besides, four more citrus fruits as the genus Camellia and Thea) like C . kissi (Wild
mandarin orange (C. poonensis), tangarine (C. tea-leaves used as substitute of tea-Malteshwari
nobilis), Rangpur (C. limonia) and lemon (C. & Singh, r965), C!. drupifera etc. are found growing
limon) are considered to grow here. This list did wild here.
not include the Papeda group of Citrus, in which This region is also rich in plants yielding essen-
this region is very rich. Bhattacharya and Dutta tial oil, resin, tannin and dyes. Jasmines, lemon
(1956) described 52 types of citrus species and grass (Cymbopogon martini), arabic gum, indigo
varieties and five probable hybrids from Assam, plant, maddar (Rubia tinctoria), different species of
which demonstrate clearly the richness of this area Terminalia, henna (Lamsonia alba) etc. are founrl
in Citrus flora. Soh-Niangriang a wild sweet orange here both as wild and cultivated and in cultivation
has been found in Assam (Blzattacharya and Duttu, as early as the time of ancient Egypt.
1951) which made Tanaka (1~58) to state that Terminalia catappa, T citrinn, T tomentosa are
sweet orange must have originated in the vicinity used for dyeing and tanning. Canarium bengha-
of Assam. H e further concluded that "the pre- lensis and C. sikkimense provide eromatic resin.
sence of C. indica and its derivative (C. Many medicinal plants have been found native
gepressa-with very large seeds, C. erythrosa of to this place. Some of the important are Senna
Assam-SohSiem) on the Indian side furnishes a (Cassia angzrstifolia), Croton oil (Croton tiglium),
strong evidence that Eastern India mifnt be called Strychnin nut (Stwchnos nuxvomicaj, Chaulmoogra
the 'Centre Origin of all Citrus fruits'." oil (Hydnocarprrs kurzil), Rhubarb (Rheum emodi),
Hooker (1875) listed 75 species of Vitis in India Ashok (Sarncca indica), different species of Tertni-
out of which forty-six were found in Eastern India. nalia like T arjuna, T bellirica, T. chebula, etc.
His conception of Vitis is very broad based and It has been mentioned that this is an important
344 BULLETINOF THE BOTANICAL SURVEY OF INDIA Fol. II

centre for many species of Rliododendron and big er fruits with thick sweet flesh without fibres,
Orchids. Hooker (1894) reported about 5,000 species
of orchids distributed in about 340 genera mostly
S
ha e been evolved through continuous selection and
maintenance of the improved types by vegetative
from this region. Ghose (1968) described 158 spp. multiplication (Mukherjee, 1949).
in 26 genera from Darjeeling and north-eastern In case of sugarcane, the wild progenitors are
region. Deb(rg61) reported about 80 spp. of orchids "Kans" or Saccharurn spontaneum, S. barberi (north
from Manipur. Orchid wealth of this region has Indian cane), S. robustuin (New Guinea cane), and
not been fully explored and the Botanical Survey of perhaps Erinnthus (or Munj grass). A collection of
India is, therefore, making an extensive collection S. spontaneum shows that some types are erect and
and maintaining them at the National Orchidaria have a stand like sugarcane, and some have sucrose
at Shillong and Yercaud. content up to 9.90 per cent. Some of these (SES 154B.
The important source of the steroid drug indus- 197Aand-208) are also resistant to red-rot disease and
try is diosgenin from Dioscorea. Due to the work drought conditions (Mukherjee, 1957).
of Botanical Survey of India and other workers in In view of their contribution to evolution of crops
different parts of the world, it is also found that and some other important attributes, it is now consi-
solasodine may be an important basic material. dered essential that all wild related species and varie-
The work at Botanical Survey of India indicated ties of an economic plant should be collected and
that Solanum khasianzcrn has varied content of sola- grown at one place for assessment and utilisation in
sodine ranging from 2 % to 6%. Similarly, the crop improvement. This is what is technically called
work at the Horticultural Research lnstitute at as establishing a "Germ Plasm Bank" So far we
Bangalore has indicated that the various types of have been mostly drawing materials from the banks
Dioscorea had different quantity of diosgenin. In maintained by foreigners. We have done very little
a recent article in Economic Botany, sapogenin except mainly in sugarcane and rice. It is time that
contents from different species of Diosvorea have we take up this work very earnestly. The Indian
been shown to vary from o. I % to 15.oO/,, of which Council of Agricultural Research has recently for-
two species from Mexico have the highest value mulated a scheme on "National Germ Plasm Repo-
(Mrcrtin, 1969). It is, therefore, helpful to under- sitory" with international assistance, where the help
stand the ecology and natural location of the vari- of the Botanical Survey will be utilised.
ous plants and their distribution pattern on the The danger of extinction of wild germ-plasm is
basis of which they can be made use of in medicine envisaged hy the F.A.O., who has, therefore, started
as is now being done by various agencies. Intro- cne conservation centre at Turkey for crops of the
duction and collection of such materials on an Mediterranean region. The Botanical Survey of
extensive scale is an urgent necessity. India can undertake this work for India and South-
Why such collections are necessary? It is be- East Asia, provided manpower, funds and land faci-
cause of the fact that the plants have evolved lities in different regions of the country are provided
through ages by various processes causing large by the Government. This will help also in mainten-
variations in the form of species, cultivars, etc. of ance of our medicinal plants, used in allopathy,
the economic plants. when we understand the ayurveda and unani systems of medicine, which are
evolutionary process of such plants from the wild facing extinction due to indiscriminate exploitation.
progenitors and the region in which it has origi- The Botanical Gardens should revive their original
nated, we are in a better position to rebuild and function, which has been the source of many plant
synthesise new plants for better use of man. I shall introduction and improvement in the past, without
cite two examples-the mango and the sugarcane. any conflict with agricultural urliversities and re-
The mango belongs to &fangifera indica, but it has search institutes, which are the subsequent main
41 wild species, the majority of which occur in users of such plant wealth.
Malaya and Indo-China. But those which are
closely related and truly' wild indica occur in the REFERENCES
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and related M. sylvatica are very small with lot of Solanum with some consideration on the origin of brinjal.
Indian J. Genet. 1 1 : 75-82. 1951.
fibres on the stone, and thin acidic flesh. From such BHATTACHARYA, S. C. AND S. D ~ A Citrus
. varieties of Asssrn.
inferior fruits, the present varieties which have much Ibid, 1 I ; 57-62, 1951,
Ig691 MUKHGRJEE: SURVEY OF PLANT RESOURCES OF INDIA AND ~ T sUSE 223
BHAT~ACHARYA S. C. AND S. DUTTA Classification of Citrus KANJILAL, U. N. ET U . Flora of Assam. Shillong, 1934-40.
fruits of Assam. I.C.A.R. Monograph, 20, 1956. MAHESHWARI, P. AND UMRAOSINOH. Dictiomty of EcOnomk
BOR,N. L. Gramineae in U.N. Kanjilal et al. Flora of Assam 5. plants o f Indiu, ICAR. New Delhi, 1964.
Calcutta, 1940. b n ~F. ,W. The species of Dioscorea containing aapogenin.
CHAKRAVORTY, A. K. Origin of cultivated banana of South-east Econ. Bot. 23 : 373, 1969.
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CQOKE, T. The Flora of the Prcsidenty o f Bombay. London, 1901-08. in Ancient India. Indian J. Hort. 24 : 33-37, 1967.
DEB, D.B. Monocotyledonous plants of Manipur territory. MUKHERJEE, S. K. A monograph on the genus Mangifna Linn.
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DE GANDOLLE, A. Origin of cultivated plants. London, 1886. -- Origin and distribution of Saccharum. BoL Gez. 119: 5561
DUTHIE, J. F. Flora of the Upper Gangetic Plain and of the adjaccnt 1957.
S~walrckand sub-Himalayan tracts. Calcutta, 1903-22. OLMO,H. P. ICAR workshop on fruit research. Ludhiana, 1969.
GAMBLE, J. S. AND C.E.C. FISCHER.Flora of the Presidency o f
Madras. London, 1915-36. PRAIN,D. Bengal Plants. Calcutta, 1903.
G~ose,.B.. N. Beautiful Indim Orchids and how to grow them. SRINIVASAN, K. S. Phycologiu Indica. Vol. I. Calcutta, 1969.
Darjeellng, 1968. TANAKA, T. The origin and dispersal of Citrus fruits having
-, H. The Flora of Eastern Himabya. University of Tokyo, their centre of origin in India. I n d b J. Horl. 15 : 101-115,
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