Volume: 36 Issue: 4
Reproductive biology of Peganum harmala L. (Nitrariaceae) –an important medicinal plant of Kashmir Himalaya
Year: 2014, Page: 108-116, Doi: https://doi.org/10.62029/jmaps.v36i4.Aslam
Received: May 19, 2014 Accepted: Oct. 10, 2014 Published: Dec. 31, 2014
Peganum harmala L. is an important medicinal plant growing in Kashmir Himalaya. The species exhibits restricted distribution and the number and size of populations are declining continuously in the Kashmir valley. Therefore, the present study was carried out to understand the main cause of reduction in populations of their species and to unravel the bottleneck in its reproductive systems if any. The species produce bisexual flowers with large nectarines present at the base of the ovary. Protoandry and moderate to high pollen to ovule ratio depicts cross pollinated nature of the species. However, architecture of flower in which essential reproductive organs are not separated enough facilitates selfing in the species. The breeding experiments also indicate facultative xenogamous nature of the species. More than 80% seed germination was observed under controlled conditions which depict normal sexual system is operative in the species. The in vitro root sprouting studies revealed that moisture and soil type are important for the sprouting of these vegetative propagules. The present study bring in light that the species can be reclaimed and restored if the sexual seeds are not over harvested at the time of maturation and allowed to recruit, besides, if favourable habitats are also provided.
Keywords: Facultative xenogamy, Floral architecture, Peganum harmala, Population size, Root-sprouting, Seed germination
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© Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknow (India)
Nida Aslam, Aijaz A Wani, Irshad A Nawchoo, Aijaz H Ganie. 2014. Reproductive biology of Peganum harmala L. (Nitrariaceae) –an important medicinal plant of Kashmir Himalaya. J Med Aromat Plant Sci 36: 108-116.
