Floristic Diversity of Bhimbetka World Heritage Site (Madhya Pradesh) - an Over View

Abstract

Bhimbetka World Heritage Site in Madhya Pradesh is quite important both from archaeological and biodiversity point of view. There are over 700 rock shelters with world's oldest Stone Age rock paintings, which are surrounded by a thick cover of primeval forests supporting a rich biodiversity. The forests of the area are typically dry mixed deciduous type with preponderance of Mitragyna parviflora, Terminalia alata, Careya arborea, Chloroxylon swietenia, Sterculia urens, Ficus mollis, Lannea coromandelica, Anogeissus latifolia, Schleichera oleosa and Diospyros melanoxylon trees. An analysis of floristic diversity revealed that there are 201 species of flowering plants belonging to 157 genera and 56 families. The legumes are most dominant in the area in respect to number of species (36 spp.), followed by families like Malvaceae (13 sp.) and Euphorbiaceae (12 sp.). An assessment of economic potential of the flora has also been made based on the first hand information generated from local inhabitants mainly Gond adivasis. The economically potential species are categorised into different groups based on their uses. Rare and endangered species have also been identified based on the status evaluation of their populations.