Logo

Contents: Foreword. Acknowledgements. Photo plates. 1. Introduction. (i) Grass morphology. (ii) Study area. 2. Previous work. 3. Observation. (i) Diversity. 4. Notable findings. (i)  Systematic treatment. Bibliography. Index to botanical names. Index to local names.

Poaceae are estimated to have about 12074 species belonging to 771 genera (Soreng et al., 2015) in the world. In India, it has c. 1334 species belonging to 261 genera (Karthikeyan, 2005), which contributes to about 11% of the world species. In Odisha, it is represented by 271 species under 104 genera. India has c. 315 species and 14 genera endemic. Odisha has 4 endemic grasses viz. Themeda mooneyi, Themeda Odishae, Themeda Saxicola and Tripogon Mahendragiriensis. Grasses, despite their economic and ecological importance and rich diversity, the taxonomic studies have taken a back seat due to miniature floral parts, look alike nature in general appearance and specialized terminology associated with its morphology.