In this study, we investigated the reproductive biology of Trillium govanianum — a medicinally important endangered plant species endemic to the Himalaya. We specifically aimed to unravel the key floral traits that aid and/or limit the species’ reproduction, including the breeding strategies and modes of pollination. We studied qualitative and quantitative floral traits, and conducted different breeding experiments to understand reproductive biology of this plant species for its conservation and sustainable utilization. Our results show no temporal separation between anther dehiscence and stigma receptivity in the species, though essential organs are spatially separated. The absence of nectar secretion in the flowers and lack of pollenkitt in the pollen wall indicates anemophily is operative in the species; nevertheless, some flies and beetles were observed to occasionally visit the plants. The pollen/ovule ratio indicates a value between facultative-xenogamy to xenogamy. Our pollination experiment results reveal that the species undertakes both self- and cross-pollination. We observed a significant difference in fruit set between the supplemented and open-pollinated controls, indicating that the species might be pollen-limited. Although both self- and cross-pollinations are operating in the species, yet the fruit set was low, which may be due to the inefficient pollination system and meiotic abnormality found in the species. Overall, our results suggest that the reproduction in T. govanianum is limited by some inherent biological traits in combination with environmental conditions. Looking ahead, we highlight how our findings can help in guiding conservation of this endangered species in the Himalaya.

The Overa-Aru wildlife sanctuary is one of the largest protected areas in terms of area (425 km2) in Kashmir Himalaya. Here, we present an annotated checklist of flora of the sanctuary, which includes 397 taxa (392 species, 1 subspecies, 3 varieties and 1 forma) belonging to 254 genera in 76 families. Asteraceae was the dominant family with 57 species, followed by Rosaceae and Lamiaceae with 28 and 27 species respectively. Likewise, Salix and Veronica were the dominant genera with 7 species each, followed by Artemisia with 6 species. The herbs were dominant (307 species, 77.33%) followed by trees (41, 10.33%). Lifespan wise, perennials were dominant (318 species, 80.1%), followed by annuals (66, 16.62%). The hemicryptophytes were the dominant life forms (224 species, 56.42%), followed by phanerophytes (80, 20.15%). Further, nine species occurring in sanctuary are currently recognized under different IUCN threat categories. The checklist provides the first-ever comprehensive documentation of the flora from this Kashmir Himalayan protected area, supplemented with details on natural life-history traits and up-to-date conservation status. Hopefully, the study will be immensely useful in guiding suitable conservation strategies and management planning of protected areas in the region.

Aconitum violaceum Jacq. ex Stapf is a threatened medicinal plant with restricted global distribution. The highest frequency of seed germination was recorded on Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) basal medium, supplemented with 0.5 mg L⁻¹ kinetin with a germination rate of 77.32% and mean germination time of 27 days. Among the various plant growth regulators examined, 0.1 mg L⁻¹ kinetin (Kn) + 0.5 mg L⁻¹ indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) proved to be effective for maximum embryogenic callus production (51.0%) within 31 days of inoculation. The conversion rate of somatic embryos into complete plantlets was highest in the MS medium augmented with 0.1 mg L⁻¹ Kn + 0.5 mg L⁻¹ IAA (68.00%), with an average root initiation time of 25 days. The rooted plantlets were subsequently hardened into jiffy pots with a combination of loamy soil, coco-peat, and vermicompost (1:1:1 v/v), and then transplanted into a greenhouse with a 60% survival rate. To our knowledge, this is the first study on direct in vitro propagation and embryogenic callus induction from seeds. The established regeneration protocol could be employed to propagate A. violaceum on a large scale in a short time. This would contribute significantly to its rapid propagation and germplasm conservation, and establish a framework for the domestication of this highly valued threatened medicinal plant.