• NET Web Desk

Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) field biologists have collaboratively published a first-of-its-kind pictorial guide depicting details about the diversity of tree species in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Titled ‘Trees of Arunachal Pradesh : a Field Guide‘, the book is meant for a wide audience that facilitates efficient and easy identification of trees of this region.

Authored by three seasoned filed biologists – Dr. Navendu Page of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dr. Aparajita Datta and Bibidishananda Basu of Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), this pictorial guide brings collective experience of two decades in field botany and forest ecology of North-east India. 

This 591-page field guide to the Trees of Arunachal Pradesh features more than 1500 photos of 241 species of trees, shrubs and a few climbers. Whereas ‘keys’ provided in the book help the reader navigate through pages and to the species identity.

Based on easily observable characters such as leaves, flowers and fruits, these keys will portray the comparison of species, thereby helping to identify the plant of interest quickly.

The species pages, which form the bulk of the book, give an account of the species’ ecology and utility, along with images of the plant parts and its global conservation status.

One of the highlights of this book is the description of the ecology of the species, thereby providing an account of the species’ ecology and utility, along with images of the plant parts.

“We have given the flowering and fruiting times, who eats the fruits or how seeds are dispersed from our field observations or literature,” Dr Datta said.

“There is an exhaustive index of vernacular names used in several different local languages, that can also guide you to find the correct species of interest. There is also a scientific name index with the authority.” – informed a release.

“All these user-friendly and aesthetic features make this book an attractive resource for botany students, naturalists, plant explorers, and tree watchers as well as researchers, field staff of the Forest Department and the people of Arunachal Pradesh and more widely in the North-eastern region of India.” – asserted the NCF.

Furthermore, the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) Director Dr Bivash Pandav termed the book “an absolute delight not only for biologists but also for anyone remotely interested in exploring plant life in the land of the rising sun.”

This book can be purchased online : (https://www.instamojo.com/NCF/trees-of-arunachal-a-field-guide/).