A Taxonomic study of Family Poaceae in Goa Thesis submitted to Goa University for the award of degree of Doctor of Philosophy in SX C7",d1wrckNi 362 By Harshala S. Gad c,17 gflAeO_S lave. rd- es/e`' tor- C .V....1-00w1V.cmcom) Pokte -S • Gw4 e & co-0.41-N0A.er Department of Botany Goa University, Goa — 403 206 June 2007 6 z STATEMENT As required by the University Ordinance 0.19.8 (ii), I state that the present thesis "A Taxonomic Study of Family Poaceae in Goa" is my original contribution and the same has not been submitted on any occasion for any other degree or diploma of this University or any other University/ Institute. To the best of my knowledge, the present study is the first comprehensive work of its kind from the area mentioned. The literature related to the problem investigated has been cited. Due acknowledgments have been made wherever facilities and suggestions have been availed of. 6116 PO / Place: Goa University (Harshala S. Gad) Date: .20 / C /2-001 Candidate CERTIFICATE As required by the University Ordinance 0.19.8. (IV), this is to certify that the thesis entitled "A Taxonomic Study of Family Poaceae in Goa", submitted by Miss Harshala S. Gad for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Botany, is based on her original and independent work carried out by her during the period of study, under my supervision. The thesis or any part thereof has not been previously submitted for any other degree or diploma in any University or institute. Place: Goa University Date: 2,0 6 . 7_oo7- Research Guide ACKNOWLEDGMENT "Education is the way in which one learn skills, gains knowledge and understanding about the world around and oneself' Anonymous I owe my indebtedness and gratitude to my research guide Dr. M. K. Janarthanam, Reader, Department of Botany, Goa University for introducing me to the world of grasses and inspiring me to step in the field of Agrostology. He guided me patiently, with useful suggestions and constant encouragement and support throughout my work. My sincere thanks to Prof. D. J. Bhat, Head Department of Botany, Goa University, for his encouragement and support. I am extremely grateful to my fellow researcher friends, Ashish Prabhugaonkar, Jyotsna R. N. Dessai, Mrs. Emilia Mascarenhas (Lecturer, Department of Botany, St. Xavier's College, Mapusa), Mrs. Rupa Herlekar (Lecturer, Bhavan's College, Chowpatti, Mumbai) and brother Anil Gad for accompanying me in fieldwork and for the help extended by them in various ways during course of this work. I am thankful to Joint Director and In-charge of BSI (Pune) and MH (Coimbatore) for permitting me to consult their respective herbaria and library. I owe my sincere thanks to the Director of Meteorological Observatory of India, Goa branch, Altinho, Panjim for permitting me to use meteorological records of the year 2003-2005. My sincere thanks to the Head of the Department of Botany, Shivaji University, Kolhapur for permitting me to consult their herbarium. My special thanks to Prof. S. R. Yadav, Department of Botany, Shivaji University, for all his help rendered to me during my stay at Kolhapur and for his valuable suggestions and encouragement. My sincere thanks to Prof. N. Ravi, Kollam, Kerala, for confirmation of the identity and his comment on Ischaemum yadavii sp. nov. I owe my thanks to Dr. J. E Veldkamp, Rijksherbarium, Ledien, Netherlands,for the Latin diagnosis of Ischaemum yadavii sp. nov. I am grateful to Goa University, for granting me research studentship. My sincere thanks to subject expert Dr. P. K. Sharma, Reader, Department of Botany Goa University, for his valuable comments, suggestion and encouragement. I owe my thanks to Prof. G. N. Nayak, Dean of Faculty of Life Sciences and Environment & Chairman of FRC for his valuable comments and support. I am thankful to my teachers Dr. Nandkumar Kamat, Dr. B. F. Rodrigues, Dr. S. Krishnan and Dr. (Mrs.) Vijaya Kerkar for their encouragement and support. My special thanks to Dr. Girish Potdar, Mayur Kamble, Shankar Shendage and Nilesh Malpure for their timely help during my stay at Kolhapur. My sincere thanks to Sachin Punekar for extending his help during my stay in Pune. My sincere thanks to research scholars and my friends Dr. Rupali Bhandari, Dr. Pratibha Jalmi, Janet Vaz, Radhika Nair, Puja Gawas, Govind Parab, Supriya Desai, Vanessa Rodrigues, Kavita Shivkumar for their cooperation and help. Special thanks to my junior friends Deval Naik, Sonia Faldessai, Nagratna Chari, Namrata Mhalsekar, Santa Yadav, Nikita D'Souza and Swapnaja Dhargalkar for their help. My special thanks to Mr. Vithal Naik, Mr. Gajanan Tani, Mr. Ramesh Tari, Mrs. Ana D'Souza, Mr. Krishna Velip, Mr. Satish Pereira and Mr. Suresh Fondekar technical and ministerial staff, Department of Botany, Goa University for extending their help. Finally, I take this opportunity to thank my Parents and brother Raj endra Gad for their support and encouragement throughout my work. CONTENTS Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Chapter 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS 7 Chapter 3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION (i) Systematic treatment 16 (ii) Analysis 311 Chapter 4 CONCLUSION 319 Chapter 5 SUMMARY 320 REFERENCES 323 APPENDIX LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1 Map of study area Fig. 2. Monthly average rainfall of year 2003-2005 Fig 3. Tripogon sivarajanii Sunil. Fig 4. Arthraxon lanceolatus (Roxb.) Hochst var. raizadae (Jain, Hemadri et Deshpande) Fig 5. Bhidea burnsiana Bor Fig 6. Chrysopogon tandulingami P. V. Sreekumar, V. J. Nair & N. C. Nair. Fig 7. Dichanthium paranjpyeanum (Bhide) W. D. Clayton. Fig 8. Dimeria stapfiana C. E. Hubb. ex Pilger Fig 9. Ischaemum bolei Almeida Fig 10. Ischaemum manilaliana sp. nov. Fig 11. Ischaemum muticum L. Fig 12. Ischaemum sahyadrica sp. nov. Fig 13. Ischaemum santapaui Bor Fig 14. Ischaemum thomsonianum Stapf ex Fischer. Fig 15. Ischaemum tranvancorense Stapf ex Fischer. Fig 16. Ischaemum yadavii Harshala Gad & Janarth. sp. nov. Fig 17. Vetiveria zizanoides (L.) Nash. Fig 18. Glyphochloa acuminata (Hack.) W. D. Clayton var. acuminata Fig 19. Glyphochloa divergens (Hack.) W. D. Clyton. Fig 20. Glyphochloa goaensis (R. S. Rao & Hemadri) W. D. Clayton Fig 21. Glyphochloa henryii Janarth., Joshi et Rajkumar Fig 22. Glyphochloa talbotii (Hook. f.) W. D. Clayton Fig 23. Glyphochloa veldkampii M. A. Fonseca & Janarth. Fig 24. Mnesithea clarkei (Hack.) Koning & Sosef Fig 25. Ophiuros bombaiensis Bor Fig 26. Isachne setosa Fischer Fig 27. Urochloa panicoides P. Beauv. Fig. 28: Schematic representation of taxonomic distribution of grass species in Goa. Fig. 29: Endemic grass species of Western Ghats in Goa: their taxonomic and habitatwise distribution. Fig. 30: Occurrence of grass taxa on lateritic plateaus in relation to altitude: Fig. 31: Schematic representation of haibitatwise distribution of grass species in Goa. Fig. 32: Dendrogram showing similarity between habitats based on the distribution of species. Fig 33: Proportion of endemic Andropogoneae to total endemic grasses on plateaus Fig 34: Grasses on low and high altitude plateaus of Goa Fig 35: Number of habitats vs number of grass taxa Clayton. Fig. 19: Glyphochloa divergens (Hack.) W. D. Clyton. Fig. 20: Glyphochloa goaensis (R. S. Rao & Hemadri) W. D. Clayton Fig. 21: Glyphochloa henryii Janarth., Joshi et Rajkumar Fig. 22: Glyphochloa talbotii (Hook. f.) W. D. Clayton Fig. 23: Glyphochloa veldkampii M. A. Fonseca & Janarth. Fig. 24: Mnesithea clarkei (Hack.) Koning & Sosef Fig. 25: Ophiuros bombaiensis Bor Fig. 26: Isachne setosa Fischer Fig. 27: Urochloa panicoides P. Beauv. Fig. 28: Schematic representation of taxonomic distribution of grass species in Goa. Fig. 29: Endemic grass species of Western Ghats in Goa: their taxonomic and habitatwise distribution. Fig. 30: Occurrence of grass taxa on lateritic plateaus in relation to altitude. Fig. 31: Schematic representation of haibitatw* distribution of grass species in Goa. Fig. 32: Dendrogram showing similarity between habitats based on the distribution of species. Fig. 33: Proportion of endemic Andropogoneae to total endemic grasses on plateaus Fig. 34: Grasses on low and high altitude plateaus of Goa Fig. 35: Number of habitats vs number of grass taxa LIST OF PLATES Plate 1: Spikelets — A. Leersia hexandra; B. Oryza rufipogon; C. Centotheca lappacea; D. Arundo donar, E. Aristida setacea; F. Danthonidium gammiei; G. Chloris barbata; H. Dactyloctenium aegyptium; I. Eragrostis atrovirens; J. E. tenella; K. E. viscosa; L. Indopoa pauperculus; M. Sporobolus piliferous; N. S. virginicus; 0. Tripogon capillatus; P. 7'. sivarajanii. Plate 2: Spikelets — A. Arthraxon hipidus var. hispidus; B. A. lanceolatus vr. raizadae; C. Bhidea burnsiana; U. Dichanthium paranjpyeanum; E. D. pertusum; F. Dimeria blatteri; G. Eulalia fimbriata; H. Spodiopogon rhizophorus; I. Themeda triandra; J. Saccharum spontaneum; K. Sorghum halepense; L. Glyphochloa acuminata var. acuminata; M. G. acuminata var. stocksii; N. G. acuminata var. woodrowii; 0. G. divergens; P. G. forficulata; Q. G. goaensis; R. G. henryi; S. G. mysorensis; T. G. ratnagirica; U. G. talbotii; V. G. veldkampii. Plate 3: Spikelets of Ischaemum — A. I. bolei; B. I. dalzellii; C. I. indicum; D. I. jayachandranii; E. I. mangaluricum; F. I. molle; G. I. muticum; H. I. raizadae; I. I. rugosum; J. I. santapaui; K. I. semisagittatum; L. I. thomsonianum; M. I. timorense; N. I. travancorense; 0. I. tumidum; P. I. yadavii sp. nov. ; Q. Ischamum sahyadrica sp. nov.; R. Ischaemum manilaliana sp. nov. Plate 4: Spikelets — A. Acroceras munroanum; B. Arundinella leptochloa; C. A. metzii; D. A. nepalensis; E. A. pumila; F. A. tuberculata; G. Brachiaria miliformis; H. Coelachne simpliuscula; I. Cyrtococcum oxyphyllum; J. Echinochloa colona; K. E. crusgalli; L. Eriochloa procera; M. Isachne setosa; N. Oplismenus compositus; 0. Panicum notatum; P. P. paludosum; Q. P. psilopodium; R (1 & 2). Paspalidium flavidum; S. Paspalum paspalode; T. Pennisetum polystachyon. INTRODUCTION The family Poaceae forms the fourth largest group among the families of flowering plants and comprises of 793 genera and about 10, 000 species (Watson & Dallwitz, 1994).