The plant resources of Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary for family acanthaceae were studied and analyzed. During the study 17 genera and 20 species of this were recorded. The sanctuary is characterized by herbs dominate the flora followed by trees, climbers and shrubs. Dominance of phanerophytes indicates the tropical moist and humid climate. Adhatoda zeylanica Medic. and Carvia callosa (Nees) Bremek is rare species in this sanctuary while most frequent occurring species is Barleria cristata L. Species such as Eranthemum purpurascens Wight ex Nees is localized along the river corners. The medicinal uses by tribes of this family were also recorded. Proper conservation and management plans are needed to save the natural resources, especially medicinal plants, of this sanctuary.

Pavetta wightii Hook. f. has been rediscovered after a long lapse of 79 years.Present collection forms an extended distributional record for the taxon, which is again an addition to the flora of Kerala State. Detailed description with illustration is provided.

The present collection of Scleria lithosperma (L.) Sw. subsp. linearis (Benth.) T. Koyama in Malwa region of forms a new record for Rajasthan of India. It is earlier known to occur in Maharashtra. The present paper deals with brief citation, description, illustrations, photographs, ecological notes, followed by flowering and fruiting time, critical notes, specimens examined and distribution.

Ficus cupulata Haines, an endemic plant in Madhya Pradesh, has been reported as a new record for Uttar Pradesh. Further, it is an extended distribution from the type locality.

The paper enumerates 108 species representing 35 genera of lichens found growing on twelve major tree species and other substrates in thirteen forest sites of Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttaranchal, India. It also includes a comparative account of lichens growing on different phorophytes. The Syzygium cumini trees bear the maximum number of lichen species, represented by 64 species, followed by Shorea robusta, Mallotus philippensis, Murraya koenigii and Mangifera indica by 27, 21, 8 and 7 species respectively. Among the various localities of the Reserve, the Dugadda area has maximum diversity of 29 lichen species, followed by Chuhi, Sultan and Sandikhal by 19, 18 and 15 species respectively. Cryptothecia lunulata (Zahlbr.) Makh. & Patw., is the most common lichen of the Reserve, grows almost on all the trees. There is a dominance of crustose lichens, represented by 89 species while only 21 foliose lichens are known from the Reserve.

One hundred thirty accessions comprising Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. (99), V. unguiculata var. sesquipedalis (22), V. umbellata (7) and Vigna sps. (2) collected from Orissa during November 1994 are reported. The diversity & distribution pattern of each species have been highlighted. The variability among & within the species have been studied in detail.

Neem oil is well known for its application in the field of agriculture, medicine, energy, toiletries, cosmetics and others. Investigations have shown that the oil content as well as qualitative characters of fatty oils of oil seed species is highly influenced by agro climatic and phytogeographic conditions to which they are exposed. In order to identify good provenances yielding better quality seeds, the seed oil of different provenances was examined for its physico—chemical studies. The present work deals with the studies regarding variability in physico—chemical constants such as refractive index, acid value, saponification value and percentage of unsaponifiable matter of Neem oil obtained from the seeds of different provenances.

Exacum pumilum Griseb. is newly recorded from Mirzapur District of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. A detailed description including seedlings, images, sketches and notes are provided.

                            A systematic assessment of tea was done for heavy metal poisoning using Double Beam UV-Visible spectrophotometer and AAS. The tea were procured from the market and analyzed for seven heavy metals viz. Pb, Cu, Fe, Ni, Cr, Zn and Mn. The study revealed that the mean concentration of the analyzed heavy metal showed the following order, Mn > Zn > Fe > Cu > Pb > Cr > Ni T. The samples were reported to be contaminated with highly toxic lead and copper which demands a firm concern and check so as to prevent our present as well as future from the upcoming diseases and ill effects.

Desmodium tortuosum (Sw.) DC. an exotic species, collected at the Shervarayan hills is described and illustrated.

Cyanotis barbata D. Don (Commelinaceae) hitherto reported from Mirpur dist. of Pakistan has been reported from Srinagar (Kashmir). Cardiospermum halicacabum L. (Sapindaceae) earlier reported at an altitude of 1219 m has now been reported up to 1980 m.

Due to serious, acute, chronic and genetic health hazards associated with common synthetic insecticides, the global tendency today is to search for herbal insecticides and insect repellents which are non-hazardous to human and domestic animals. Some herbal insecticides like Pyro-dust and Rotenone are already in use. Nicotine sulfate is another one but with significant toxicity. Neem (Azadirachta indica) oil is safe and useful insecticide but has a limited range of application. Based on our medico-ethno-botanical exploration in Uttarakhand, a state in the Himalayan region in India, the information was collected on potential insecticidal and insect repellent plants of the region. The present paper documents the occurrence of 17 such plants along the various altitudinal zones of Uttarakhand Himalaya in India. Significant botanical characters of plants with local names and their habitat have also been indicated.