The Family Compositae in Assam and North East Frontier Agency

Abstract

The paper presents the distribution and relative abundance of 167 taxa belonging to 47 genera of the Compositae in Assam and North East Frontier Agency. The family is best represented in the tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen and again, in subtropical pine and mixed forests; it is much less abundant in temperate altitudes, very rarely extending up to sub-alpine zone in NEFA. Of the species enumerated, the number of species found common to other countries are indicated against each: Burma (45), Malaya (16), Java (25), China (25), Japan (24), Ceylon (21), Philippines (7), Africa (17), Australia (5), Europe (5) and America (5).

Ambrosia artemisiifolia Linn., Eupatorium trapezoideum Kunth, Erigeron annuus Pers. and Petasites albus Gaertn. appear to be new records of species for India. On the other hand, these species viz. Ainsliaea angustifolia Hook. f. & Thom., Brachycome assamica Clarke, Cnicus griffithii Hook. f., Inula kalapani Clarke etc. appear to be endemic to Assam and NEFA.