Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

STATUS, DISTRIBUTION AND ECOLOGY OF CYCAS BEDDOMEI - THE LIVING FOSSIL FOUND IN SRI VENKATESWARA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY OF ANDHRAPRADESH

B. Anand Mohan and B. Bharatha Lakshmi

Abstract

Cycas beddomei in an endemic plant species belonging to the cycadales of the gymnosperms and is found restricted to few pockets of Tirupati and Seshachalam forests of Chittoor and Cuddapah districts in Andhra Pradesh.This species is considered as a living fossil, as its distribution is very rare, though it flourished well in the Mesozoic era. In the present article the endemic distribution of Cycas beddomei, its phenological characters and the conservation measures are dealt in detail.