The chromosomal observations were carried out on 66 taxa collected from Kolli Hills belongs to 38 genera and 20 families. Sixty two ferns were studied cytologically for the first time in this study area. The present study has revealed the presence of 32 sexual diploids, 20 sexual tetraploids, 2 apogamous tetraploids, 9 sexual octoploids, 2 apogamous triploids and one 12-ploid sexual species. The sexuality of polyploids has also been calculated. The maximum number of chromosomes (n=171) were observed in Adiantum hispidulum while a minimum number of chromosomes (n=30) were in Adiantum latifolium, Cheilanthes tenuifolia and Pellaea boivinii. About the 20 genera were observed to be with more than one base number and remaining 18 genera with a single base number.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Georg Eberhard Rumphius (1627-1702), author of the monumental work Herbarium Amboinense (1741-1755) is seen as the undisputed patriarch of Malesian Natural Sciences. Until recently, it was thought that if Rumphius had collected any specimens, they all had been lost. The recent digitisation and revision of two book herbaria in Leiden collected by Paul Hermann (1646-1695) on Ceylon revealed four specimens with reference to either Rumphius or Ambon in Hermann's handwriting: Colocasia esculenta, Gomphrena globosa, Helminthostachys zeylanica and Biophytum sensitivum, of which the latter does not occur in Sri Lanka. Here we discuss the description of these species in both published and unpublished historic works and consider the possibility that they may represent the only extant herbarium material attributable to Rumphius.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.