Available Online at http://www.recentscientific.com International Journal of CODEN: IJRSFP (USA) Recent Scientific International Journal of Recent Scientific Research Research Vol. 11, Issue, 05(E), pp. 38716-38720, May, 2020 ISSN: 0976-3031 DOI: 10.24327/IJRSR Research Article DIVERSITY OF THE FAMILY LEGUMINOSAE IN POINT CALIMERE WILDLIFE AND BIRD SANCTUARY, TAMIL NADU M. Padma Sorna Subramanian1 A. Saravana Ganthi2 and K. Subramonian3 1Survey of Medicinal Plants Unit (S), CCRS, Salem, Tamil Nadu 2Department of Botany, Rani Anna Govt. College for Women, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu 3Department of Botany, The MDT Hindu College, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24327/ijrsr.2020.1105.5363 ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article History: The legume family Fabaceae is the third largest family in Angiosperms and placed in the eudicots in the APG III system of plant classification. Many plants of this family provide food, fodder, fuel, Received 24th February, 2020 th medicine and other basic needs for the human and animal since the ancient time. This family also Received in revised form 19 play a key role on ecosystem functioning. Point Calimere Wildlife and Birds Sanctuary, March, 2020 encompassing 17.26 km of sandy coast, saline swamps and thorny scrub around the backwaters and Accepted 25th April, 2020 th a resting and migratory route for lakhs of birds, is one of the greatest avian spectacles in the country. Published online 28 May, 2020 The Point Calimere coastal area was declared a Ramsar site (No.1210) and a place of international importance for conservation of biodiversity. The present study is an attempt to document different Key Words: legume species and their uses in Point Calimere Wildlife and Birds Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu, India. Conservation, Endemics, Exotics, Flora, The present floristic survey recorded 67 species of Fabaceae and covering 26 genera. The genus Medicinal plants Indigofera has maximum occurrence with 8 species. The common species of this area, Dalbergia coromandeliana is endemic to Peninsular India. About 48 species have medicinal potential and used to treat many diseases. Geographic landmark and iconic wetland complex of Tamil Nadu, Point Calimere is facing severe ecological pressures including intermittent freshwater flows, hyper salination, degrading mangrove health and loss of biodiversity. Government should formulate new policies for the protection and preservation of the biodiversity. Copyright © M. Padma Sorna Subramanian A. Saravana Ganthi and K. Subramonian, 2020, this is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. INTRODUCTION Economically, Fabaceae is second in importance only to Poaceae. Leguminosae (Lewis et al., 2005; Yahara et al., The Fabaceae (=Leguminosae A. L. de Jussieu) are of 2013), or Fabaceae (Lewis and Schrire, 2003) is an cosmopolitan distribution. Based on the genus Faba Mill. the economically and ecologically important family. India term Fabaceae was first used by J. Lindley (1836). The new represented by 173 genera 1192 species (Karthikeyan, 2000). classification, Angiosperm Phylogenetic System (APG IV) uses Legumes (Fabaceae Lindl.) are one of the largely cultivating made comprehensive phylogenetic analyses of legumes. Based food crops. It provides highly nutritious sources of protein and on the plastid matK gene sequence, long-recognised and widely micronutrients. Significantly it promotes health and accepted subfamilies, Caesalpinioideae DC., Mimosoideae livelihoods, particularly in developing countries (Yahara et al., DC., and Papilionoideae DC., are outdated. The separated 2013). Many legumes are improving the soil fertility by the families of earlier classifications are pooled into a single symbiotic nitrogen fixation (Van den Bosch and Stacey, 2003). family. The total number of plant species described and Legumes products are contribute to world economy though accepted in the APG 2016 is 374,000, of which approximately food, fodder, timber, gums, bio-fuels and medicine. The present 308,312 are vascular plants, with 295,383 flowering plants study is an attempt to document different legume species and (angiosperms; monocots: 74,273; eudicots: 210,008). The their uses in Point Calimere Wildlife and Birds Sanctuary, family Fabaceae consisted of 956 genera 24,505 species (The Tamil Nadu, India. Plant List, 2013); 751 genera, 19,500 species (Maarten and James, 2016); 741 genera, 20200 species (Mabberely, 2017), Study area 770 genera and over 19,500 species (Lewis et al., 2005, 2013; The Point Calimere, the renowned wildlife and bird sanctuary LPWG, 2013). Fabaceae is the third largest angiosperm family on the seashore in Nagapattinam district (Tamil Nadu). It is in terms of species numbers after Asteraceae and Orchidaceae. *Corresponding author: M. Padma Sorna Subramanian Department of Dermatology, Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, United Kingdom M. Padma Sorna Subramanian A. Saravana Ganthi and K. Subramonian., Diversity of the Family Leguminosae in Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu a wetland of international importance as it is one of the 26 Vegetation at Point Calimere designated Ramsar sites in India. It is a protected area in Tamil Vegetation of the area of study can be classified into sea-shore Nadu, along the Palk Strait where it meets the Bay of Bengal at vegetation, aquatic vegetation, dry evergreen vegetation and Point Calimere. The sanctuary was created in 1967 mangrove vegetation. The vegetation varies with different for conservation of blackbuck antelope, which was list as habitats such as foreshore sandy, inland sandy, salt marsh, Threatened in IUCN. The sanctuary is famous for large mangrove, sand dune and woody scrub jungles. Around congregations of water birds including Greater Flamingos. railway tract area, near old light house and new light house the Several sites of religious, historical or cultural importance are soil contains high amount of calcium carbonate and calcium located within the sanctuary. It is basically an oxide, which favour the growth of xerophytic species island surrounded by Bay of Bengal, Palk Strait and swampy Dichrostachys cinerea and Derris scandens. Fresh water backwaters and salt pans. Sand dunes, tidal mud-flats and vegetation such as Pithecellobium, dulce Canavalia virosa, shallow seasonal ponds are found along the coast. It is an area Dryptes sepiaria, Lablab purpureus remarkably grow around of high biodiversity, with many unique species of animals and Nalla thaneerkulam. As the Point Calimere forest is surrounded birds. The flagship species is Blackbuck antelope. There are on the East and South by the sea and on the north and west by many salt pans near the sanctuary. The total area of the the extensive salt swamps the littoral vegetation is marked. sanctuary is 17.26 Sq kms, (https://www.forests.tn.gov.in). Sand dunes observed adjoining the sea and inhabited by Two villages are located inside the area of study, Kodikkadu in Stylosanthes fruticosa, Tephrosia purpurea, T. villosa, the north and Kodikkarai near angular extreme of Point Caesalpinia bonduc and Acacia planifrons. Nearer to the two Calimere are connected by road. It is observed that there are villages, Prosopis an introduced plant is progressively large water bodies along the coast from Kodikkarai to encircling patches of natural vegetation and strangles them Muthupet. extending inwards. In the fresh water pools of the rainy season, METHODOLOGY aquatic ephemeral Aeschynomene indica come up. The ridges around the water pool are predominant with Canavalia virosa, Field trips were carried out in whole areas of the Point Vigna trilobata, Zornia diphylla and Mucuna pruriens which Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary in various seasons are unique to this area. Derris scandens is a liana found along during February 2008 - June 2010. The Fabaceae species are the sea coast and on the edges of muddy salt water creeks. collected and identified with the help of floras (Gamble and Senna siamea is an introduced tree from South East Asia and Fischer (1915 -1936), Mathew (1981 – 1988) and Daniel and are planted as an avenue plant in human habitations. Delonix Umamaheswari (2001). The details like name (family, plant elata, Cassia fistula, Dalbergia sissoo are the common name, and local name), locality, date of collection, habit and deciduous trees in the study area. Large shrubs and small trees habitat, uses, distribution and salient features like association are associated with a few climbers and twiners which become were recorded in an elaborate field book. The voucher prominent in the rainy season. The undergrowth herbs usually specimens are housed in Survey of Medicinal Plants Unit (S), cover small round and discontinuous patches. The common CCRS, Salem, Tamil Nadu. Information on nomenclature and undergrowth herbs are Zornia diphylla, Senna italic, Rothia family was taken from an online botanical database Tropicos indica and Indigofera glandulosa. Many species such as (2017). The plants were arranged based on APG IV Alysicarpus vaginalis, Crotalaria pallidam Dalbergia classification. For the uses and common names, Useful plants coromandeliana, Indigofera aspalathoides, Tephrosia of India (1986) and Yognarasiman (2000) were referred. purpurea, Acacia leucophloea occur in different habitats. OBSERVATION AND DISCUSSION Forms of plants Family Fabaceae includes trees, shrubs or herbs.