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A Field Guide to the Common Trees and Shrubs of Sri Lanka
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... The climatic condition of the area is hot and humid (temperature of 21.1 °C-32.2 °C) with an annual rainfall of approximately 2000 mm (Ashton et al. 1997). The South-West monsoon between May and September receives the main precipitation. ...
The influence of benthic organisms on the turnover rate of leaf litter is considered a vital factor to regulate the dynamic of soil organic carbon (SOC) in mangroves. Among the benthic organisms, sesearmids (i.e. Neosarmatium smithi, Episesarma versicolor and Perisesarma cf. guttatum) contribute evidently to this process but the machanisms are poorly known. To quantify this interaction the current study was carried out in a southern mangrove patch of Sri Lanka. The amount of SOC among the sites ranged from 8.20 ± 2.05 to 18.52 ± 4.63 kgm⁻². The ecological zonations (e.g. disturbed and least disturbed) due to land-use changes and pollution events influence the variations of physico-chemical parameters among the habitats. Accordingly, the SOC sedimentation was increased with high crab density and biomass in the least disturbed sites. The stem density of mangroves showed a positive linear relationship with mean crab biomass; representing the mangroves as habitat providers. High amounts of mangrove propagules in crab burrows provide substantial inputs to the standing stock and finally to the SOC sedimentation process.
... The plant species were recorded in three distinct zones of the landslide such as zone of Initiation (I), transportation (T) and deposition (D) (Walker et al., 2009) by visual observation. Plants were identified to species level in the field with the aid of "The Revised Hand Book to the Flora of Ceylon" (Dassanayake et al., 1980) and "A Field Guide to the Common Trees and Shrubs in Sri Lanka" (Ashton et al., 1997). Geobotanical identification was a random survey covering the entire landslide area. ...
... Similarly, germination of spores of general, indicative fungi Cladosporium sp. was inhibited by mucilaginous extracts of D. indica. In traditional Ayurvedic medicine, it is reported that mucilaginous extract of D. indica fruits has long been used in preparing shampoo to treat dandruff (Ashton et al., 1997). This further proves the presence of antifungal compounds in its mucilage. ...
Dillenia indica produces mucilaginous seeds embedded in hard, fibrous, megafaunal fruits, and little is known about the ecological function of mucilage in its regeneration. Using standard laboratory protocols, we investigated the role of mucilage on seed dispersal (buoyancy), chemical defense (antibiotic, antifungal, antioxidant, and allelopathic activities), and seed germination. Further, we characterized seed germination, dormancy, and storage physiology of D. indica . Results revealed that mucilage associated with seed‐coat assists seeds in floating on water for a longer duration, acts as an antimicrobial agent without hampering the overall seed germination. It was noticed that fresh mature seeds possess an underdeveloped embryo that grows within the seed before radicle emergence (a sign of morphological dormancy; MD), and seeds took ~70 days to achieve 95% germination (a sign of physiological dormancy; PD). However, the rate of germination increased when seeds were treated with gibberellin or subjected to 1‐month dry‐storage (confirmation of PD). Seeds disperse with ~12% moisture and retain high viability even after ultra‐drying over silica gel, indicating an orthodox seed storage physiology. Study concludes that mucilage plays a crucial ecophysiological function in dispersal‐defense mechanism of D. indica seeds, by enhancing seed buoyancy, helping seeds to disperse long‐distance, and protecting the seeds from soil pathogens through antimicrobial activity. Our study confirmed that seeds of D. indica possess morphophysiological dormancy (MPD), unlike the MD reported in an earlier study from North India. Possible ecophysiological function of mucilage on seed dispersal‐defense mechanism and production of morphophysiological dormant and orthodox seeds in D. indica are discussed.
... Sri Lanka has 704 species of common trees and shrubs of flora under 95 families [1]. Technology is moving fast, the people are running towards growth, so they become more urbanized and forget about nature. ...
Automatic classification of the trees from images or videos is difficult, due to its large variety of species. Identifying and classifying tree types requires agricultural experts and botanists. The technology is moving fast so the people are running towards growth so they become more urbanized and forget about nature. We have lost valuable tree species due to the forest firing without knowing its name. It's difficult to identify trees by the naked eye because of their variation in orientation, the shape of the leaves, and the viewpoint. Next-generation people mostly will forget the importance of the trees. So there is a need for a system to recognize trees. In this experiment, we acquired 2,500 images of 25 different types of trees inside South Eastern University of Sri Lanka premises. We focused on analyzing the performance of the pre-trained deep learning models. Therefore, we specifically use transfer learning by leveraging pre-trained deep learning models. The evaluated architectures are VGG16, VGG19, Xception, InceptionV3, and MobileNet. The performance of each classification model is assessed in terms of validation accuracy. In our experiment, MobileNet achieves a validation accuracy score of 87.20% and outperforms other pre-trained models. Trees must be classified into identifiable classes for us to have a clear, organized way of identifying the diverse array of trees that inhabit the planet. We did not find any similar research work on identifying/ classifying trees in Sri Lanka using image processing-based machine learning. This MobileNet architecture could be used to deploy the final web-based application solution and mobile-based application. Also, it took a smaller number of epochs which is 4 to reach the higher validation accuracy. Because of the lightweight nature of the MobileNet architecture model, it has performed better than others.
... Acronychia pedunculata is a small evergreen plant that can range in size from a shrub to a large tree and is generally known as "Ankenda" in Sinhala, claw-flowered laurel in English and "Kattukanni" in Tamil ( Jayaweera, 1982). It is widely distributed in Sri Lanka, especially in montane and rain forest understory, gaps, and fringes (Ashton et al., 1997), up to 5000 ft elevation ( Jayaweera, 1982). It also found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Southern China, Hong Kong, Philippine islands ( Jayaweera, 1982;Pathmasiri et al., 2005;Su et al., 2003). ...
Acronychia pedunculata (family: Rutaceae) is one of the commonly used medicinal plants in Sri Lankan traditional medicine. Different parts of this plant, i.e. leave, roots, barks and fruits are used for the treatment of cough, diarrhea, asthma, itchy skin, pain, swelling and other disorders with the involvement of the inflammatory processes. In Sri Lanka, the leaves of A. pedunculate is used in the form of medicinal oils and herbal porridge. From scientific studies, evolitrine was identified as the major anti-inflammatory and analgesic compound present in the leaves of A. pedunculata. Hence, evolitrine has the potential to be incorporated into novel treatment agents against inflammatory and pain conditions.
... Rainfall measures of the sampling months were taken from the Department of Meteorology. Vege-tation of the each micro habitat types were identified using guides (Ashton et al., 1997;de Vlas & de Vlas-De Jong, 2008). ...
The butterflies are an extremely diverse group of enticing insects in Sri Lanka, comprising
248 known species, of which 26 are endemic species. Present study was conducted from
January 2019 to December 2019 in the Maduru Oya National Park with the main objectives of estimating the butterfly diversity and its temporal variation throughout the year. The field method was based on standardized “Pollard walk” method. Line transects of about 1000 meter were applied in length in each habitat types and each transect was divided into five segments of 200 meters. Survey was carried out three days per month in the microhabitat types of Vegetated Cover, Open Grassland and Non-vegetated Area during 0700 to 1700 hours. Shannon Diversity index was used to estimate the butterfly diversity of each microhabitat types. During the survey, 5040 butterfly count, consisting of 5 families and 33 species, including two endemics, were recorded in the park. Butterfly density was high in October 12.74% and lower in June 09.07%. Species richness was high in February (n= 31), May (n= 28), June (n= 27), November (n= 28) and December (n= 27) months.
The main reasons for monthly fluctuations of both mentioned parameters were the seasonal changes with weather fluctuations and the influence of flowering and fruiting season. Papilionidae 24.25%, Pieridae 29.46%, Nymphalidae 26.43%, Lycaenidae 18.49% and Hesperiidae 1.37% counts were recorded in each family. The highest species richness was observed in Vegetated Cover 42.86% (n=33) and the lowest was recorded in Non-Vegetated Area 25.97% (n=20). The present study discloses the fact that Maduru Oya National Park is a hidden paradise for butterflies and encourages more research studies of butterfly fauna to be conducted in national parks as this is the second study which has been carried out in a national park of Sri Lanka and first study in the Maduru Oya National Park.
... Total area of the study site is 61.1 ha (Figure 1). Prior to sampling, a ground survey was conducted to identify different habitats within the university premises (i.e scrub forest, grassland, home gardens, building clusters and highly modified habitats etc.) and a map was Gunatilleke & S. Wijesundera (1997). A field guide to the common trees and shrubs of Sri Lanka. ...
Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka is located in Belihuloya within the Rathnapura district and the Imbulpe regional secretariat division, close to the Rathnapura-Badulla district boundary. Only a limited number of studies have been published on the fauna of this area by previous researchers. Data collection by some individual researchers is not accessible since they are not published. All published documents clearly mentioned the richness and importance of faunal diversity around the Belihuloya area. Therefore, a faunal survey was initiated in Sabaragamuwa University premises in August 2012. A habitat map was created and the diversity of selected taxon was sampled systematically. The survey mainly focused on birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fresh-water fishes and butterflies. Ninety four species of birds representing 42 families, 17 terrestrial mammal species representing 12 families, 21 of reptile species from seven families, eight amphibian species representing four families, five of freshwater fish species representing two families and 52 species of butterflies representing six families were recorded from the survey. According to the results, Sabaragamuwa University premises harbours 21 nationally threatened faunal species. Many threats to biodiversity in this study area were observed and they include encroachment and habitat destruction, poaching, impact of invasive species, lack of knowledge on the biodiversity, haphazard waste disposal and burning, impact of domestic animals on the native fauna, road accidents and the use of agrochemicals such as pesticides.
Plastic materials are the main food packaging material both in developed and developing countries, because of their reliable ability to protect and transport food at lower costs. Unfortunately, they harm the environment due to their resistance to biodegradation, lack of waste management, and restricted recyclability. Moreover, they may pose adverse health effects to consumers. Therefore, there is a need to develop environmentally friendly food packaging using bio-based or biodegradable materials. For instance, several innovations based on biopolymers are being developed especially in developed countries. On the other side, in many developing countries, there is a long tradition of using plant leaves as food packaging. These leaves have cultural, religious, and environmental significance in the tropics. Unfortunately, they do not always guarantee the integrity of the packaged products and there is a need to promote them to take full advantage of their potential. However, there is little information on leaf packaging in literature. Therefore, this review aims to provide an overview on the state-of-the-art of leaf packaging in developing countries, in an attempt to compile the information required for further investigations needed to take full advantage of the environmental importance of leaf packaging. This study highlights mainly various plant species used as leaf packaging, treatments undergone by the leaves before their use, and leaf packaging effects on food quality and safety. It also discusses future perspectives to promote leaf packaging.
Fruits: legumes clustered, narrowed ends; seeds shiny brown
- I-Numerous
I-numerous, globose heads.
Fruits: legumes clustered, narrowed
ends; seeds shiny brown.
Site: roadsides, plantations; DL, IN, W.
Uses: W-fuelwood; leaves-fodder.
axillary or terminal. Fruits: pink to brown, coiled legumes; pink to whitish pulp; shiny, black seeds
- I-Small
I-small, globose heads,
axillary or terminal.
Fruits: pink to brown, coiled legumes;
pink to whitish pulp; shiny, black seeds.
Site: roadsides, home gardens;
Uses: shade tree, hedges
- I N Dl
DL, IN, W.
Uses: shade tree, hedges; pulp-edible, lemonade;
Fruits: globose/ like a small lime; pulp mucilaginous. Site: monsoon forest subcanopy/ sandy coastal scrub
- I-Axillary Racemes
I-axillary racemes.
Fruits: globose/ like a small
lime; pulp mucilaginous.
Site: monsoon forest subcanopy/
sandy coastal scrub;
COROLLA: 4-5, sometimes basally united, the two inner smaller, the outer broader, imbricate. ANDROECIUM: stamens 4-5, free or epipetalous, sometimes only 2 fertile. Anthers 2-locular with thick connective. GYNOECIUM: superior, 2-carpelled, 2-locular with 1-2 ovules in each
- Flower Parts -Calyx
FLOWER PARTS -CALYX: 3-5, free or basally united, imbricate. COROLLA: 4-5,
sometimes basally united, the two inner smaller, the outer broader, imbricate.
ANDROECIUM: stamens 4-5, free or epipetalous, sometimes only 2 fertile. Anthers
2-locular with thick connective. GYNOECIUM: superior, 2-carpelled, 2-locular with
1-2 ovules in each. Styles 2, often united.
Fruits: brown/ ovoid/ stellate hair/ supported on persistent calyx; seeds black/ covered with pulpy white aril. Site: monsoon and intermediate forest sub canopy and rain forest understory
- I-Large
I-large, lax,
pubescent/ pyramidal/
terminal panicles.
Fruits: brown/ ovoid/ stellate
hair/ supported on persistent
calyx; seeds black/ covered
with pulpy white aril.
Site: monsoon and intermediate
forest sub canopy and rain
forest understory;
Flowers: pinkish-white, small, numerous; I-axillary panicles. Fruits: purple, ovoid/ pointed, smooth/ shiny drupe. Site: intermediate forest canopy
- W-Pale Red
W-pale red, rather hard, heavy.
Flowers: pinkish-white, small,
numerous; I-axillary panicles.
Fruits: purple, ovoid/ pointed,
smooth/ shiny drupe.
Site: intermediate forest canopy; IN.
Uses: ornamental;
Flowers: pale yellow, small; I-small/ crowded, axillary clusters. Fruits: brilliant scarlet, cylindrical, smooth, soft, berry; seeds hard and shiny. Site: montane and rain forest canopy
- W-Hard
W-hard, heavy;
young parts brownish-pubescent.
Flowers: pale yellow, small; I-small/
crowded, axillary clusters.
Fruits: brilliant scarlet, cylindrical,
smooth, soft, berry; seeds
hard and shiny.
Site: montane and rain
forest canopy; LM, W.
Trunk: B-brownish grey
- Petioles Stout
petioles stout, densely tomentose.
Trunk: B-brownish grey;
Flowers: numerous, clusters of 4-8 in axils of fallen leaves. Fruits: brown, ovoid, pointed, glabrous berry. Site: rain forest canopy
- W-Hard
- Brown
W-hard, heavy,
yellowish brown; young shoots
densely orange tomentose.
Flowers: numerous, clusters of
4-8 in axils of fallen leaves.
Fruits: brown, ovoid, pointed,
glabrous berry.
Site: rain forest canopy; W.
Uses: stem, leaves-medicinal;