Seed Germination Studies of Butea Monosperma (Lam.) Taub. Var.Lutea (Witt.) Maheshwari: A Rare and Endangered Medicinal Plant

Butea monosperma (Lam.)Taub.var. lutea (Witt.) Maheshwari is an endemic and less populated plant in the Deccan plateau of India and belongs to Fabaceae family. The medicinal value of this plant is immense. The plant is used in folk medicine. It has been recently incorporated into Red Data Book of India as it is a very rare medicinal plant and also declared as globally endangered that needs immediate conservation. Some of the reasons contributing to its near extinction are expanding agricultural fields, illicit felling of trees for fire wood and also lack of knowledge about its rarity. To aid conservation measures, intensive studies were taken up to improve the efficiency of germination of seeds of Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taub. var. lutea (Witt.) Maheshwari as a prelude to plant tissue culture. By adopting novel methods involving use of filter-paper-bridges, germination of seeds was achieved both ex situ and in vitro thus proving that the seeds available from the herbal sellers were viable. However, it was also found that the viability of seeds is more when the seeds are immediately sown in the month of May as soon as they ripen.