An overview on floral diversity of Lakshadweep islands

Priyanka Ingle

doi:10.23264/JJIS.2025.2.1.007

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2025 Vol.2, Issue 1 Preview Page Next Page

Research Article

An overview on floral diversity of Lakshadweep islands

28 February 2025. pp. 7-11

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Abstract

The spectacular Lakshadweep archipelago is the smallest Union territory of India. This archipelago consists of 36 islands, 12 atolls, 3 reefs and 5 submerged sand banks in the Arabian Sea spread over an area of about 32 km². Out of 36 islands only 11 are inhabited. These islands are similar in floristic composition due to prevalence of similar type of soil, climate and rainfall in all these islands. The present floristic study recorded 488 angiospermic taxa from Lakshadweep Islands, based on the field surveys, herbarium studies and published literature. The flora is represented by 309 genera under 92 families. Among these, there are 380 taxa belonging to dicots (78%) represented by 244 genera and 72 families and 108 taxa (22%) belonging to monocots which are represented by 65 genera under 20 families. The five endemic taxa are reported from Lakshadweep islands of which Cyperus pachyrrhizus var. humei is endemic to Lakshadweep islands only. The five dominant families are viz., Fabaceae, Poaceae, Asteraceae, Malvaceae, Cyperaceae. The five dominant genera are viz. Crotalaria, Cyperus, Euphorbia, Ipomoea and Phyllanthus. The natural flora of Lakshadweep comprises littoral or strand vegetation of aquatic angiosperms, the shore possesses creepers followed by few grasses. The lagoon side or western side of islands is dominated by littoral species like Volkameria inermis, Ipomoea pes-caprae, Launaea sarmentosa, Pemphis acidula, Scaevola taccada, Spinifex littoreus and Suriana maritima while eastern shore is dominated by Cordia subcordata and Guettarda speciosa. The middle portion of the islands is dominated by coconut trees. Other species include Artocarpus altilis, Colubrina asiatica and Thespesia populnea, etc. Different developmental activities have deteriorated the ecosystems in the islands. Thus, urgent concerted efforts should be undertaken to conserve this comparatively pristine and fragile ecosystem. There is only one protected area, viz., Pitti (Bird Island) Wildlife Sanctuary (0.01 km²) and islands such as Andrott, Kalpeni and Minicoy may be declared as protected areas as they have comparatively good patches of forests with species diversity. Degraded areas should be reclaimed with suitable native species.

Keywords

Island

Lakshadweep

Flora

Floral diversity

Coconut

Vegetation

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Information

Publisher :Jeju Journal of Island Sciences
Publisher(Ko) :제주섬과학회지
Journal Title :Jeju Journal of Island Sciences
Journal Title(Ko) :제주섬과학회지
Volume : 2
No :1
Pages :7-11
Received Date : 2024-11-25
Revised Date : 2025-02-18
Accepted Date : 2025-02-18
DOI :https://doi.org/10.23264/JJIS.2025.2.1.007

Jeju Journal of Island Sciences ISSN:3022-9456(Online) 제주섬과학회지

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