Studies on Angiospermic Parasites and Epiphytes of Ajodhya Hills, Purulia with Special Reference to their Ethnomedicinal Importance

Ajodhya hill located at the south boundary of Purulia district is a part of Chotanagpur Plateau and exhibits mixed dry deciduous forest. In the present work a systematic investigation of 12 parasitic and 6 epiphytic angiosperm taxa were documented from the forest as well as from the grassland and border of the rice fields situated at the foothills. Among the twelve parasites, eight are stem parasites and four are ischolar_main parasites on different hosts. A details record of their habitat, host range, nature of parasitism, flowering and fruiting time is discussed here and the voucher specimens are kept at S.K.B. University, Purulia.

The stem parasites like Dendrophthoe falcata (L.f.) Ettingsh, Viscum orientale Willd., Viscum articulatum Burm.f., Macrosolen cochinchinensis (Lour.) Teigh., etc, are detrimental to forest trees and reduce the timber value and ischolar_main parasites like Sopubia delphinifolia (L.) G. Don Striga angustifolia (D. Don) C.J. Saldana, etc, kill the soil binding grasses and thus they play an ecologically significant role in ecosystem. Some parasites and epiphytes are widely used by tribal people and their ethno-medicinal values are discussed in the present paper.