• S. Jeeva

Sacred groves are the important places in which biodiversity is preserved in mostly undisturbed condition because of certain taboos and religious beliefs. Based on the inventory and preliminary survey, two sacred groves were selected in ‘Parakudi’ village along the southwest coast of Kanyakumari district for the purpose of detailed studies on floristic richness. Floristically a total of 124 species of angiosperms belonging 48 families, 10 species of pteridophytes and 1 species of gymnosperms were recorded. Of these 25 were trees, 28 shrubs, 56 herbs and 15 climbers were well represented in the sacred forests studied. Five species remain unidentified including an orchid taxa. Family-wise distribution of plant families shows that Poaceae was the most speciose family with 10 species in site 1, whereas, Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Malvaceae were the dominant family in site 2 with 5 species each. Thus, the enumeration of the sacred grove at Parakudi village of Vilavancode taluk in Kanyakumari district and the assessment of the floristic wealth would provide a strong basis for evolving measures for their protection.

floristic survey, Kanyakumari district, Parakudi village, sacred grove, vascular plants

"Vascular plant diversity of the select sacred grove of Kanyakumari district, Tamilnadu, India", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 12, page no.240-250, December-2018, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1812635.pdf

"Vascular plant diversity of the select sacred grove of Kanyakumari district, Tamilnadu, India", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.5, Issue 12, page no. pp240-250, December-2018, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1812635.pdf