Angiosperm diversity of the Theosophical Society campus, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

By

Irwin, Sheeba Jabez
Thomas, Sharmila
Rathinaraj, Pauline
Duvuru, Narasimhan

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2015-2-17

Original Publication

Check list : journal of species lists and distribution

Volume

11

Series / Issue

Issue: 2

Pages

1579--36

Subjects

Banyan tree , Chennai , Exotic flora , Flowering plants , Theosophical Society

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

[São Paulo, Brazil] Luís Felipe Toledo 2005-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/11.2.1579

 

Abstract

This paper deals with the list of flowering plants from the Theosophical Society campus (TS), Chennai. The Theosophical Society campus is the second largest green patch in the city of Chennai, next to Guindy National Park. A total of 449 taxa have been recorded comprising 161 trees, 84 shrubs, 179 herbs and 25 climbers that are distributed in 353 genera, represented in 85 families, 11 super orders and 35 orders as per the APG III classification. Superorder Fabids and Lamids account for about 49% of the taxa. Paleotropical elements (66%) dominate the TS campus followed by Neotropical elements (31%). The present study reveals that TS campus has a rich and diverse exotic flora. The garden department of this protected campus takes care of conserving the floral diversity. Hence, Theosophical Society campus can be considered as a major biodiversity heritage site and an indispensible lung space for the city of Chennai.