Authors :

A. Sivakumar*, M. Murugesan** and K. Vasantha*,

Author Address :

*PG and Research Department of Botany, Government Arts College, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India **Department of Botany, PSG college of arts and science, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India

Abstract :

A preliminary survey of tree species diversity was carried out in three semi evergreen forest patches, Valparai forest (VF), Injiparai forest (IF) and Kurangumudi forest (KF) of Anamalai hills of the Western Ghats. A total of 91 tree species representing 67 genera and 43 families were recorded. Lauraceae with 15 species was the most species family followed by Moraceae (7 species), Euphorbiaceae (6 species), Anacardiaceae (5 species), Meliaceae (4 species) and Sapindaceae (3 species). At the genus level, Ficus dominated with seven species followed by Elaeocarpus (4 species), Actinodaphne (4 species) and Neolitsea (3 species). The overall objective of this study was to list out the tree species in fragmented forests which may focus on the ecological impacts associated with fragmentation.

Keywords :

Anamalai hills, Western Ghats, Moraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Anacardiaceae, Meliaceae and Sapindaceae.