NATURE'S BLESSING – PLANTS

World has a wide variety of flora. In India the data place available
is in the 10th position in the world and 4th place in Asia in the
diversity of plants. About 80 per cent of the geographic areas
surveyed so far have 48,000 plant species that have been
described by the Botanical Survey of India in Kolkata.
The wide flora forms the conspicuous cover of vegetation that
comprises of 20,000 plant species. Of that, more than 45 per cent
is endemic and it has so far not been reported anywhere in the
world.
The flora of the country is studied by the Botanical Survey of
India and its 9 field/circle offices located throughout the country
along with certain research institutions and universities.
India has a wide variety of flora. In India the data place available
is in the 10th position in the world and 4th place in Asia in the
diversity of plants. About 80 per cent of the geographic areas
surveyed so far have 48,000 plant species that have been
described by the Botanical Survey of India in Kolkata. The wide
flora forms the conspicuous cover of vegetation that comprises of
20,000 plant species. Of that, more than 45 per cent is endemic
and it has so far not been reported anywhere in the world. The
flora of the country is studied by the Botanical Survey of India and
its 9 field/circle offices located throughout the country along with
certain research institutions and universities.
 Importance of plant species
Some plant species are important on grazing lands because they help
grasslands recover quickly. Some plants are vital for nitrogen uptake,
which is important because it keeps nitrogen out of water bodies”. This
study may have further value as researchers look to the future.
As climate change, same plants may become more important
because levels of participation and atmospheric CO² change.
The species need to provide one function during multiple years were
not the same as those needed to provide multiple function within one
year.
Plants play many roles, including but certainly not limited to:
➢ Supplying Food and Energy
➢ Maintaining Earth’s Atmosphere
➢ Cycling Water and Nurturing Soils
➢ Contributing to Nitrogen and Other Biogeochemical Cycles
➢ Interdependence with Animals
➢ Interdependence with Fungi
➢ Interdependence Among Plants
➢ Resources for Humans
➢ Aesthetics for Humans
➢ Scientific Use by Humans
Under multiple contexts, many different plant species become really
important. For instance, certain plant species are important on west –
facing slops. Some plant species are important on grazing lands because
they help grasslands recover quickly.
 Uses of plant species
Plants species are of immense value as a source of food, medicine,
timber, fuel, fibers, gums, resins and ornamentals. At least 30,000 plant
species have a documented use as recorded in major databases.
Plants are essential for food production. The majority of the world’s
food needs are supplied by cultivated crops with a small number having
a global importance.
Additionally, thousands of plant species are grown locally for
food or used in traditional agriculture, some of them scarcely or only
partially demonstrated, and many thousands more are gathered from
the wild.
Plants also play a major role in the development of new drugs in
“western” medicine between 1981 and 2002,61% of new
pharmaceutical drugs, including 67% of earner treatment drugs, had
novel components that were derived or inspired by natural chemicals
(although not all derived for plants), with the quarter prescription
medicines derived directly from flowing plants or modeled on
molecules they contain (grass and Nerman,2005).
Crop wild relatives (CWR) are wild plant taxa that have relatively close
genetic relationships to crop plants. This enables their use in plant
breeding to improve agricultural varieties.
Plants have been used source of medicine for millennia, and these
traditional medicine systems continue to be extremely important
today. An estimated 50,000 plants species are used medicinally around
that world.
 Benefits of plant species
Intro- diversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no
matter how small, all have an important role to play to play.
For example, A larger number of plant species means a greater variety
of crops greater species diversity ensure natural sustainability for all life
forms.
Plants provide us with many direct benefits such as food, medicine,
clothes, shelter and the raw materials from which countless other
products are made. Many plants also have important cultural and
spiritual values.
Plants are living organisms that have been around since the beginning
of time. They range in size from microscopic algae to hundred meter
tall redwood trees. New plants are always being discovered and so far
there are about 350,000 plant species, which include trees, herbs,
vines, ferns, mosses and algae.
Every plant is different and each fills a niche in the environment. plants
can be annual, biennial, or perennial. Some grow big and tall and others
are slim and flexible or short and thorny. Fortunately, plants adopt
because they are one of our planet's most influential organisms.
Did you know that there are over 20,000 edible plants? But only 20
species provide 90% of our food!