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DIVERSITY IN THE FLORA OF BANGLADESH: A REVIEW
Moniruzzaman Khondker
Honorary ProfessorDepartment of Botany, University of Dhaka, Dhaka - 1000, Bangladesh
Bengal Province of British IndiaA history of 200 years of Plant Science
• Present Bangladesh- a tiny part of erstwhile Bengal Province of British India and Pakistan
• Floristic work – continuation of Historical past
• 200 years before, rich in dense vegetation but without record
• 1753 Binomial nomenclature by Linnaeus brought revolution
• 1760’s students of Linnaeus & other Europeans started floristic work in Indian sub-continent
• 1793 William Roxburgh began floristic work in Bengal Province
• After which local researchers joined• Role of plants in trade, commerce, medicine, etc.
made attraction for study
William Roxburgh (1751 – 1815)Scottish surgeon and botanist, worked extensively in India
Founding father of Indian Botany
3 distinctive phases of floristic work• British period 1784-1947- Naturalization of Teak, Cinchona,
Mahogoni, etc. popularized- 1814 Roxburgh’s Hortus Bengalensis &
Flora indica in 1832 were important- Wonder plant of Burma Amherstia nobilis
attracted John Gibson in 1836- He sailed from Burma & entered current
territory of Bangladesh for investigation
Amherstia nobilis Wall. (Fam.: Fabaceae) Pride of Burma
Tectona grandis L.f. (Fam. Lamiaceae)
- Francis Hamilton, Scottish Surgeon of East India Co. (1719-1820) studied Sundarban& other parts of current Bangladesh publ. Annals of Oriental Literature
- William Griffith (1811-1845) publ. Riverineplant of Bangladesh
- Joseph Dalton Hooker’s Flora of British India (1872-1897), 7 volumes
- David Prain Bengal Plants (1903) and Flora of Sundarban (1903a)
- 1939 Department of Biology, Dhaka University formed, Herbarium founded
• Post British period to Bangladesh (1947-1971)- Datta & Mitra (1953): an account of common
plants in and around Dhaka- Sinclair (1955): Flora of Cox’s Bazar (coastal city,
of Bay of Bengal)- Khan & Aurangzeb (1959): Fam.: Acanthaceae- Hossain (1964): on Compositae- Rahman (1964): on Caesalpiniaceae- Khan and Huda (1970): Euphorbia
Bangladesh, Physiography
South Asiatic Country, lat. 20º34‘ N and 26º33‘ N, long. 88º01‘ E and 92º41‘ E, Humid tropical climate
A= 147, 570 km2 , Total population: 161 mio, Population density: 1084 ind/ km2
Major climatic factors, BangladeshAir temp., annual mean, range: 17-29 ºCHumidity, average rel., range : 70.50-78.10%Rainfall, annual total : 2334.40 mmDay length, annual range : 10.03-13.60 hLight values, mid-day, range : 714-1714 µE/m2/secAnnual total surface water inflow: 1324 billion m3
Location Map
Adaptive root system of mangrove trees
Strands of Nypa fruticans, with clear marks of high and low tide inundation by the sea
Adaptive features of breathing roots or pneumatophores
Showing excellent relationships between plants and animals
Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) from Sundarban
A saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) in Sundarbans
Tiger Fern
How the forest look from a distant
Sundarban, the mangrove forests of Bangladesh• UNESCO world heritage site. Systematic management started in 1860s.
• total Area 10,000 sq. km: 6,000 sq. km belongs to Bangladesh, rest goes to West Bengal of India, • MSL 0.9-2.11 m, inundated by high and low tides of Bay of Bengal, one ofworlds largest continuous block of mangrove forests • Total 245 genera and 334 plant species were recorded in 1903Dominant Tree Heritiera fomes
- Excoecaria agallocah- Ceriops decandra- Sonneretia apetala- Xylocarpus granatum- Bruguiera gymnorhiza- Nypa fruticans
Swamp (freshwater) Forest of Ratargul (106 spp.), Sylhet, Bangladesh: A=204.54 haCommon Plants
Pongamia glabra, Barringtonia acutangula, Syzygium fruticosum, Clinogynedichotoma, Crateva nurvula, Rosa involucrata
Contribution of Bangladesh botanists from 1971 till date
• Floristic work strengthened, after liberation of Bangladesh in 1971
• Professor Salar Khan, Department of Botany, University of Dhaka
• Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC, establ. 1973) and Bangladesh National Herbarium (BNH, establ. 1975)
Professor Salar Khan, M.Sc. (Alig.), Ph.D. (Edin.),Department of Botany, University of Dhaka
Pioneer Plant Taxonomist (1950-1981)Contributed 18 new species of Angiosperms to
the Flora of Bangladesh
Published Flora of BangladeshNo. 1-53 in between 1972 and 2002 (Prof. Khan expired in 2002)
Later on his pupils continued the activity and completed Flora of Bangladesh No. 54-63 in between 2003 and 2015
Altogether 74 families of Angiosperms were covered
Besides Prof. Khan also pioneered the Publication of Timber Yielding Plants of Bangladesh (wild and cultivated) in 1986
First Red Data Book Vol. 1 publ. in 2001 followed by Vol. 2 in 2013 by BNH
Another Red Data Book was publ. in 2013 from Dept. of Bot. Univ. Chittagong
Source: Rahman (2013)
64 species of mangrove trees, shrubs, herbs were listed, 2001
PROJECT TITLED
‘Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh’by
Asiatic Society of Bangladesh 2005-2009
• Modest venture with some distinctive feature
• Compilation includes prokaryote, higher plants, animals
• Species included report from-Present day Bangladesh-Locations that were part of East Pakistan or Lower Bengal of the Indian Subcontinent now part of the territory of Bangladesh
Angiosperms of Bangladesh in Total 7 Volumes(Dicotyledons: Vol. 6-10, Monocotyledons: Vol. 11-12)
Biodiversity in Bangladesh
112Mammals7Gymnosp.
3267Angiosp.
158Herp.-reptil.196Pteridophy.
426Marine fish248Bryophyta
251FW-fish2250Algae
2925Arthropod300BGA
475Mollusk275Fungi
1923Prot.-Acan.171Bacteria
No. of spp.Gr. Name No. of spp.Gr. Name
Updated checklist of Higher Plants of Bangladesh: A Model(could be prepared for 3267 species of Angiosperms)
Critically endangered (CR) plant, endemic to Bengal, Corypha taliera (local nameTali palm) preliminarily identified by late Prof. Salar Khan in 1950 in a scrub
jungle within the Dhaka University campus
Panicle initiated ~Sept 18, 2008, plant died Jan 23, 2010 giving ~50 kg mature fruits. Seeds were sown, new plant regenerated and planted in different parts of Bangladesh
Aldrovanda vesiculosa, Malacca Jhangi, aquatic, once avail. in Chalan beel, Rajshahi now EN
Conservation status: VU
Conservation status: CR
Conservation status: EN
Conservation status: EN
Conservation status: VU
Conservation status: CR
Conclusive remarks• Bangladesh has rich history of plant sciences• Beset with Mangrove, Sal (Shorea robusta), Mixed
Evergreen and Swamp Forests• Bulk of the Flora has already been documented• Red Data Book updated in 3 volumes• A compiled species list from Red Data Books of
Bangladesh is available with me• Able to contribute Mapping Asia Plants
Thank You
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