PLANT COLLECTIONS FROM BANGLADESH IN THE HERBARIUM AT SHILLONG (ASSAM), INDIA

The paper presents a complete list of plants from Bangladesh deposited in the herbarium of the Botanical Survey of India at Shillong (ASSAM). A total of 448 species belonging to 324 genera and 101 families has been found to be deposited in the herbarium in Assam. Detailed field data of each species have also been provided. Introduction The study on the flora of North East India was actually initiated by Gustav Mann, who was appointed as the in-charge of the rubber plantation in Chariduar in the year 1863 and later became the first Conservator of Forests of Assam. During his service he had to collect a good number of plants for his higher authority Dietrich Brandis, the first Inspector General of Forest, from the Assam province which in those days also included the district of Sylhet, presently in Bangladesh. Mann sent one set of his collections to Brandis and kept a duplicate set at Shillong, the Headquater of Assam forest department for future reference. In this way Mann led the foundation of a forest herbarium at Shillong. During the period of Mann, Tara Kisor Gupta and Boloram Sing also deposited their collections in the forest herbarium at Shillong. Their excellent contributions also helped contemporary botanists to understand the flora of Sylhet. Later in 1912, A. Earle, the then Chief Commissioner of Assam, sanctioned a huge project entitled ‘Flora of Assam’, to Upendra Nath Kanjilal the then Extra Assistant Conservator of Forests of Assam. U.N. Kanjilal, a veteran field botanist started collecting plants form different parts of the then Assam province. As a result of his collection a good number of plants also collected from Sylhet (Sylhet was under Assam Province) were deposited at the forest herbarium at Shillong. When U. N. Kanjilal suddenly died in 1928 before completion of ‘Flora of Assam’, the charge of the project was handed over to his capable son P. C. Kanjilal a forest officer from U.P. cadre. Along with P. C. Kanjilal many other foresters like A. Das, C. S. Purkayastha, R. N. De, B. C. Sengupta, G. K. Deka, N. L. Bor, B. B. Shyam, S. R. Sharma, Dinanath Paul and H. K. Dastider joined hands to enrich the collection in the forest herbarium from Sylhet and its adjoining areas. 1Corresponding author. Botanical Survey of India, Arunachal Pradesh Regional Centre, Itanagar, India. E-mail: rajibbsi@yahoo.co.in 142 BARBHUIYA AND GOGOI The collections made by these pioneer workers helped immensely to publish the ‘Flora of Assam’ (1934-1940) which is a monumental floristic work. It helps to know the regional botany of the north eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. After the publication of the ‘Flora of Assam, few people from Assam forest department continued collecting plants from Sylhet and adjoining areas. Some of them are R. N. De, G. K. Deka and M. M. Srinivasan. In the year 1956, the Botanical Survey of India established a regional office at Shillong and its herbarium is known by the acronym ASSAM (Holmgren et al., 1990). This Herbarium, the largest Herbarium of the region, received all the 45,000 herbarium specimens from the forest Herbarium which was long nonfunctional after the publication of the ‘Flora of Assam’. In this way all the plants that were collected from various places of Assam province, got deposited at ASSAM. In course of the study at ASSAM the authors documented the plants from Sylhet, Chittagong and neighbouring areas in Bangladesh. It gives a clear picture about the floristic wealth of these areas. In fact when Kanjilal et al. (1934-1940) published the ‘Flora of Assam’ all the species collected up to that time by their colleagues and earlier workers from different parts of the present day Bangladesh, were included in their book but the details of the collections were not cited. In the present checklist of plants, all the species from Bangladesh deposited so far at ASSAM have been taken into account along with the details of their collections. This will be helpful to the foresters, field botanists, conservationists and researchers to relocate the plants or to judge their present status in their earlier site of collections which were carried out more than half century ago and to formulate conservational strategies to protect these national resources. Material and Methods A total number of 2,65,000 herbarium sheets were screened at ASSAM to find out all the collections from Bangladesh. The botanical names were recorded with the place of collection, collectors’ names, collection numbers with particular date or the month of the year in which they have been collected. The families have been arranged in the list according to Bentham and Hooker’s system of classification (Batham and Hooker, 18621883) with modifications followed at Kew and British Museum. The accession numbers of the sheets have only been given after s.n. (sine numero) i.e. when there was no collector’s number. The correct names of the species have been given by consulting the latest literature. For the three species of Dendrocalamus the names of the species could not be ascertained and in these cases, their local names, as recorded on the herbarium sheets, have been given in brakets against them. PLANT COLLECTIONS FROM BANGLADESH 143 Result and Discussion During the screening of the herbarium specimens, a total number of 448 species under 324 genera and 101 families were found to be deposited at ASSAM from present Bangladesh area, out of which 350 species belonging to 252 genera and 87 families were dicots and 98 species belonging to 72 genera and 14 families were monocots. Among the dicots Fabaceae was the largest family with 22 species belonging to 15 genera. On the other hand, Poaceae was the largest family among the monocots with 48 species belonging to 35 genera. Among the collectors U. N. Kanjilal made the largest number of collections with 111 species and G. K. Deka made the second largest collection with 109 species. Apart from the aforesaid names of collectors, plant collections of J. S. Gamble and C. B. Clarke from Bangladesh were also found to be deposited at ASSAM. Further some more collections from Chittagong, made by Rev. W. J. L. Wenger, Christian missionary posted for medical relief work in Mizoram and neighbouring areas in the first few decads of 20 century were found to be deposited at ASSAM. Enumeration of species DICOTYLEDONS 1. Ranunculaceae Clematis cadmia Buch-Ham ex Hook. f. & Thomson; Sylhet, April 1877, G. Mann s.n. 41632. Naravelia zeylanica (L.)DC.; Chhatak, Sylhet, 21.11.1943, G.K. Deka 21795; Sylhet, October 1936, C.S. Purkayastha 12439. Ranunculus sceleratus L.; Chhatak, 7.02.1941, Sylhet, G.K. Deka 20285. 2. Dilleniaceae Tetracera scandens (L.) Merr.; Longai, Sylhet, 24.12.1914, U. N. Kanjilal 4924. 3. Magnoliaceae Kadsura heteroclita (Roxb.) Craib.; Tillagarh, Sylhet, 14.11.1932, A. Das 10438. Magnolia pterocarpa Roxb.; Near Jaintiapur, Sylhet, March 1890, G. Mann s. n. 201. Michelia champaca L.; Dohalia Reserve, Sylhet, 28.07.1932, P. C. Kanjilal s.n. 335; Jaintia Hills, Sylhet, November 1889, Boloram Sing s.n. 338; near Bisnuri, Sylhet, 30.04.1915, U. N. Kanjilal 5088. M. mannii King; Longai, Sylhet district, August 1890, U. N. Kanjilal 343. 4. Annonaceae Fissistigma rubiginosum (DC.) Merr.; Chandkhira T. E. Sylhet, 29.12.1914, U. N. Kanjilal 4956. Polyalthia simiarum (Buch.-Ham. ex Hook. f. & Thompson) Hook. f. & Thompson; 144 BARBHUIYA AND GOGOI Longai Reserve, Sylhet, 28.12.1914, U. N. Kanjilal 4946. 5. Menispermaceae Cissampelos pareira L.; Lawachara, Sylhet, 18.8.1938, R. N. De 18128. 6. Nympheaceae Nymphaea pubescens Willd.; Sylhet, October 1935, C. S. Purkayastha 12451. 7. Capparidaceae Capparis zeylanica L.; Teliapara, Sylhet, 12.4.1947, M. M. Srinivasan s. n. 39000. Cleome spinosa Jacq.; Sylhet, March 188, G. Mann s. n. 1058. C. viscosa L.; Sylhet, April 1881, G. Mann 34. Strixis suaveolens (Roxb) Pierre; Lawachara, Sylhet, 21.2.1941, R. N. De 20530. 8. Violaceae Viola betonicifolia Sm.; Sylhet, April 1877, G. Mann s. n. 1188. 9. Flacourtiaceae Hydnocarpus kurzii (King.) Warb.; Lawachara, Sylhet, 15.4.1940, R. N. De 19329; Longai Reserve, Sylhet, 28.12.1914, U.N. Kanjilal 4949. 10. Samydaceae Homalium bhamoense Cubitt. & W. W. Sm.; Sylhet, May 1937, N. L. Bor 13929; Silua forest, 21.3.1921, U. N. Kanjilal 7639; Silua forest, Sylhet, 29.3.1921, B. C. Sengupta 7639. H. schlichii Kurz; Badshai Tilla, Sylhet, 16.011932, U. N. Kanjilal 7726. 11. Polygalaceae Securidaca inappendiculata Hassk; Jaintiapur, 7.11.1936, Sylhet, G. K. Deka 16234. Xanthophyllum flavescens Roxb.; Rajkandi, Sylhet, March 1935, C. S. Purkayastha 10988. 12. Caryophyllaceae Polycarpon prostratum (Forsk) Asch. & Schweinf.; Chhatak, Sylhet, 7.2.1941, G. K. Deka 22218. Stellaria media (L.) Vill.; Longai, Sylhet, 15.2.1941, R. N. De 20432. 13. Clusiaceae Calophyllum polyanthum Wall. ex Choisy; Singla Reserve, Sylhet, 15.3.1921, U. N. Kanjilal 7634. Garcinia kydia Roxb.; Longai Reserve, Sylhet, 28.3.1932, P. C. Kanjilal 10123; Longai Reserve, Sylhet, 1.6.1932, P. C. Kanjilal 10245. PLANT COLLECTIONS FROM BANGLADESH 145 G. pedunculata Roxb.; Sylhet, 8.3.1947, D. Paul 22090. G. pictoria (Roxb.) Engler; Singla Reserve, Sylhet, 22.12.1914, U. N. Kanjilal 4911. G. sopsopia (Buch.-Ham) Mabb.; Longai Reserve, Sylhet, 24.12.1914, U. N. Kanjilal 4922. Mesua ferrea L.; Sylhet, March 1887, T.K. Gupta s. n. 1970. M. floribunda (Wall.) Kosterm.; Patharia Forest, Sylhet, July 1854, T. K. Gupta s.n. 1913; Loobah Reserve, Sylhet, 10.11.1914, U. N. Kanjilal 4698; Singla Reserve, Sylhet, 13.3.1921, U. N. Kanjilal 7635. 14. Theaceae Camellia kissi Wall.; Longai Reserve, Sylhet, 26.12.1914, U. N. Kanjilal 4931. Eurya acuminata D.C.; Lawachara, Sylhet, 14.9.1946, G. K. Deka 21994. Schima wallichii Choisy; Patharia forest, Sylhet, March 1886, T. K. Gupta s. n. 2240. 15. Dipterocarpaceae Dipterocarpus turbinatus Gaertn. f.; Patharia forest, Sylhet, March 1886, G. Mann s.n. 2404; Longai Reserve, Sylhet, 28.11.1931, P. C. Kanjilal 9817;


Introduction
The study on the flora of North East India was actually initiated by Gustav Mann, who was appointed as the in-charge of the rubber plantation in Chariduar in the year 1863 and later became the first Conservator of Forests of Assam.During his service he had to collect a good number of plants for his higher authority Dietrich Brandis, the first Inspector General of Forest, from the Assam province which in those days also included the district of Sylhet, presently in Bangladesh.Mann sent one set of his collections to Brandis and kept a duplicate set at Shillong, the Headquater of Assam forest department for future reference.In this way Mann led the foundation of a forest herbarium at Shillong.During the period of Mann, Tara Kisor Gupta and Boloram Sing also deposited their collections in the forest herbarium at Shillong.Their excellent contributions also helped contemporary botanists to understand the flora of Sylhet.Later in 1912, A. Earle, the then Chief Commissioner of Assam, sanctioned a huge project entitled 'Flora of Assam', to Upendra Nath Kanjilal the then Extra Assistant Conservator of Forests of Assam.U.N. Kanjilal, a veteran field botanist started collecting plants form different parts of the then Assam province.As a result of his collection a good number of plants also collected from Sylhet (Sylhet was under Assam Province) were deposited at the forest herbarium at Shillong.When U. N. The collections made by these pioneer workers helped immensely to publish the 'Flora of Assam ' (1934-1940) which is a monumental floristic work.It helps to know the regional botany of the north eastern part of the Indian subcontinent.After the publication of the 'Flora of Assam, few people from Assam forest department continued collecting plants from Sylhet and adjoining areas.Some of them are R. N. De, G. K. Deka and M. M. Srinivasan.
In the year 1956, the Botanical Survey of India established a regional office at Shillong and its herbarium is known by the acronym ASSAM (Holmgren et al., 1990).This Herbarium, the largest Herbarium of the region, received all the 45,000 herbarium specimens from the forest Herbarium which was long nonfunctional after the publication of the 'Flora of Assam'.In this way all the plants that were collected from various places of Assam province, got deposited at ASSAM.
In course of the study at ASSAM the authors documented the plants from Sylhet, Chittagong and neighbouring areas in Bangladesh.It gives a clear picture about the floristic wealth of these areas.In fact when Kanjilal et al. (1934Kanjilal et al. ( -1940) ) published the 'Flora of Assam' all the species collected up to that time by their colleagues and earlier workers from different parts of the present day Bangladesh, were included in their book but the details of the collections were not cited.In the present checklist of plants, all the species from Bangladesh deposited so far at ASSAM have been taken into account along with the details of their collections.This will be helpful to the foresters, field botanists, conservationists and researchers to relocate the plants or to judge their present status in their earlier site of collections which were carried out more than half century ago and to formulate conservational strategies to protect these national resources.

Material and Methods
A total number of 2,65,000 herbarium sheets were screened at ASSAM to find out all the collections from Bangladesh.The botanical names were recorded with the place of collection, collectors' names, collection numbers with particular date or the month of the year in which they have been collected.The families have been arranged in the list according to Bentham and Hooker's system of classification (Batham and Hooker, 1862-1883) with modifications followed at Kew and British Museum.The accession numbers of the sheets have only been given after s.n.(sine numero) i.e. when there was no collector's number.The correct names of the species have been given by consulting the latest literature.For the three species of Dendrocalamus the names of the species could not be ascertained and in these cases, their local names, as recorded on the herbarium sheets, have been given in brakets against them.

Result and Discussion
During the screening of the herbarium specimens, a total number of 448 species under 324 genera and 101 families were found to be deposited at ASSAM from present Bangladesh area, out of which 350 species belonging to 252 genera and 87 families were dicots and 98 species belonging to 72 genera and 14 families were monocots.Among the dicots Fabaceae was the largest family with 22 species belonging to 15 genera.On the other hand, Poaceae was the largest family among the monocots with 48 species belonging to 35 genera.Among the collectors U. N. Kanjilal made the largest number of collections with 111 species and G. K. Deka made the second largest collection with 109 species.Apart from the aforesaid names of collectors, plant collections of J. S. Gamble and C. B. Clarke from Bangladesh were also found to be deposited at ASSAM.Further some more collections from Chittagong, made by Rev. W. J. L. Wenger, Christian missionary posted for medical relief work in Mizoram and neighbouring areas in the first few decads of 20 th century were found to be deposited at ASSAM.

Menispermaceae
Cissampelos pareira L.; Lawachara, Sylhet, 18.8.1938 Kanjilal suddenly died in 1928 before completion of 'Flora of Assam', the charge of the project was handed over to his capable son P. C. Kanjilal a forest officer from U.P. cadre.Along with P. C.