v7i2.169

Submitted date: 15 July 2014
Accepted date: 28 July 2014
Published date: 20 February 2015
Pp. 87–90.

Ceropegia jainii and C. rollae (Apocynaceae) at the brink of extinction

R. Kr. Singh
*Corresponding author. E-mail: rksbsiadsingh@yahoo.co.in

The highly economic, botanically curious genus Ceropegia L. (Apocynaceae Juss.) is native to India with the greatest number of species concentrated in Western Ghats which may be designated as the ‘cradle of Ceropegia’. Of the global 200 species of the Ceropegia, 58 species, two subspecies and four varieties are found in India, of which 35 species and one variety (ca. 56%) are endemic to Western Ghats where most are either critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable as per the IUCN categories and are also listed in the Red Data Book of Indian Plants. Of these, 50% (17 species and one variety) are strictly endemic to Maharashtra. Locally known as ‘Hanumangada’, ‘Kharpudi’, ‘Khartundi’, and ‘Tilori’, the genus is found mostly on plateaus and regions with gravelly and lateritic soils.

Section Editor: James L. Reveal