Volume 26, Issue 78, July - December, 2025

Diversity of flowering plants in the Sathuragiri hills, Tamil Nadu, Southern Western Ghats, India

Karnan Jeyaprakash^1,3♦, Natesan Balachandran²

¹State Medicinal Plants Board, Tamil Nadu, Anna Hospital Campus, Arumbakkam, Chennai-600 106, Tamil Nadu, India
²Department of Ecology, French Institute of Pondicherry, Pondicherry-605001, India
³Institute of Natural Science Research, Bypass Road, Nearby Nayara Petrol, Pullakkapatti, Devadanapatti-625602, Theni District, Tamil Nadu, India

^♦Corresponding Author
State Medicinal Plants Board, Tamil Nadu, Anna Hospital Campus, Arumbakkam, Chennai-600 106, Tamil Nadu, India

ABSTRACT

This study enumerates the diversity of vascular plants found in the Sathuragiri Hills which is situated in the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu, India. The study site has spans an area of 158.85 square kilometers and forms a part of the southern Western Ghats, is one of the recognized biodiversity hotspot of the World. A total of 316 plant species have identified, belonging to 230 genera and 76 families. The most species rich families are Fabaceae (43 species), Malvaceae (17 species), Acanthaceae and Apocynaceae (15 species each), Rubiaceae (13 species), Amaranthaceae (11 species) and Lamiaceae and Euphorbiaceae (10 species each). Based on the documentation, different kinds of endemic species, viz. endemic to southern Western Ghats, South India, Peninsular India and between India and Sri Lanka has recorded. The study has also highlights a number of IUCN red listed species, of which 78 species are categorized as Least Concern, seven as Vulnerable, two as Endangered and one as Data Deficient. The occurrence of these species indicates the ecological value and significance of the Sathuragiri Hills, which emphasizing the urgent need for conservation to mitigate the ongoing anthropogenic pressures in these forest areas.

Keywords: Plant diversity, Sathuragiri forest, Tamil Nadu, Southern Western Ghats. India.

Species, 2025, 26(78), e37s3169

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v26i78.e37s3169

Published: 18 August 2025