ANGIOSPERMIC FLORA OF RUNCTIA SAL FOREST, BANGLADESH. I. LILIOPSIDA (MONOCOTS)

This paper presents 49 plant species belonging to 38 genera and 13 families of the division Liliopsida (monocots) from Runctia sal forest in Sherpur district, Bangladesh. The update nomenclature, habit, habitat and representative specimen have been provided for each species. Important synonyms and local names have also been furnished, wherever available. Introduction The Runctia sal forest with an area of 3363.93 ha is located at about 32 km north of Sherpur district headquarters. The forest area bears hills and hillocks of varying heights (max. about 160 m) intercepted by narrow depressions of valleys. Hills are located on the north and the low lands are situated on the south side of forest area. About half of the Runctia forest land falls under the deep red brown terrace soil type (Khan, 2005). The temperature of this area ranges from minimum 10.7oC (January) to maximum 33.3oC (May) and humidity varies from 74% to 89% throughout the year (Bangladesh Meteorological Department, personal communication). Runctia sal forest consists of three beats, namely, Runctia (752.49 ha), Gazni (1578.69 ha), and Tawakocha (1032.75 ha). The vegetation of the Runctia forest area is a little bit different from those of Madhupur and other sal forest areas of Bangladesh (Alam, 1995). The floristic composition of sal forests in Bangladesh has so far received little attention (Ismail and Mia, 1973; Rashid et al., 1995; Rahman, 2004). Although the Runctia sal forest area supports a luxuriant growth of angiospermic flora and plays an important role in the local economy, environment and traditional health care system, no systematic study was conducted in this sal forest till date. Therefore, a study has been undertaken with a view to prepare an inventory of angiospermic flora of Runctia sal forest and to facilitate undertaking possible measures for conservation for the rare, threatened and endangered species. This communication presents plant species belonging to the division Liliopsida (monocots) from Runctia sal forest. Materials and Methods The present study area includes hill tops, hill slopes, forest floors, forest margins, streams, swamps and plain lands of Runctia sal forest areas from where fresh plant materials were collected through repeated field trips during the years of 2007 and 2008. Corresponding author. E-mail: dr_oliur@yahoo.com


Introduction
The Runctia sal forest with an area of 3363.93 ha is located at about 32 km north of Sherpur district headquarters.The forest area bears hills and hillocks of varying heights (max.about 160 m) intercepted by narrow depressions of valleys.Hills are located on the north and the low lands are situated on the south side of forest area.About half of the Runctia forest land falls under the deep red brown terrace soil type (Khan, 2005).The temperature of this area ranges from minimum 10.7ºC (January) to maximum 33.3ºC (May) and humidity varies from 74% to 89% throughout the year (Bangladesh Meteorological Department, personal communication).Runctia sal forest consists of three beats, namely, Runctia (752.49ha), Gazni (1578.69ha), and Tawakocha (1032.75ha).The vegetation of the Runctia forest area is a little bit different from those of Madhupur and other sal forest areas of Bangladesh (Alam, 1995).
The floristic composition of sal forests in Bangladesh has so far received little attention (Ismail and Mia, 1973;Rashid et al., 1995;Rahman, 2004).Although the Runctia sal forest area supports a luxuriant growth of angiospermic flora and plays an important role in the local economy, environment and traditional health care system, no systematic study was conducted in this sal forest till date.Therefore, a study has been undertaken with a view to prepare an inventory of angiospermic flora of Runctia sal forest and to facilitate undertaking possible measures for conservation for the rare, threatened and endangered species.This communication presents plant species belonging to the division Liliopsida (monocots) from Runctia sal forest.

Materials and Methods
The present study area includes hill tops, hill slopes, forest floors, forest margins, streams, swamps and plain lands of Runctia sal forest areas from where fresh plant materials were collected through repeated field trips during the years of 2007 and 2008.
The collected specimens were identified at Dhaka University Herbarium (DUH) and Bangladesh National Herbarium (DACB).In some cases, standard literature, such as Hooker (1888Hooker ( -1897) ) and Prain (1903) were consulted for identification of the species.Jackson (1893Jackson ( -1955)), Khan (1972Khan ( -1987)), Huq (1986) and some other literature and journals have been consulted for bringing the names up-to-date.The collected specimens were mounted and deposited in DUH for future reference.The families have been arranged according to Cronquist (1981).The genera and the species are arranged in an alphabetical order.For each species, the nomenclature has been brought updated and the local name (if available), short description, habitat and one representative specimen have been provided.

Systematic enumeration
In the present investigation, a total of 49 monocot species under 38 genera and 13 families have been recorded from Runctia sal forest.Poaceae is the largest family possessing 12 genera and 12 species, and Orchidaceae comes to the second largest with 6 genera and 6 species.Among the genera, Dioscorea appears as the largest genus comprising 6 species.Roxb., Fl. Ind. 3: 780 (1832)