Table 1.
General features and seed characteristics of different population of Swertia chirayita collected in Sikkim.
| Name of populations | Altitude m asl | No. of seeds/fruit (10 fruits/population for seed counting) | Seed weight (mg) 50 seeds × 3 replicates/population | Seed length (μm) 30 seeds (10 × 3 replicates) | Seed width (μm) 30 seeds (10 × 3 replicates) | Moisture content (%) 50 seeds × 3 replicates/population | Habitat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sc1—Luing (ES) | 2126 | 209 ± 54.69 | 1.5 ± 0.06 | 486 ± 5.80 | 355 ± 12.29 | 25.8 ± 12.10 | Ridge, moist grassy slope with Cryptomeria japonica and Castanopsis tribuloides. |
| Sc2—Railgaon (ES) | 1948 | 297 ± 76.97 | 1.6 ± 0.06 | 532 ± 13.94 | 383 ± 22.68 | 22.4 ± 3.27 | Shrubberies with C. japonica and C. tribuloides. |
| Sc3—Upper Pangthang (ES) | 2176 | 309 ± 56.27 | 1.6 ± 0.10 | 502 ± 28.33 | 380 ± 11.55 | 29.1 ± 2.31 | Shrubberies, moist grassy slope with Quercus lamellosa and C. tribuloides. |
| Sc4—Jaunbari (SS) | 1651 | 222 ± 46.34 | 1.2 ± 0.10 | 454 ± 14.22 | 374 ± 12.00 | 39.1 ± 6.08 | Moist grassy slope with Alnus nepalensis and Michelia lanuginosa. |
| Sc5—Tiffin dara 2 (SS) | 1744 | 269 ± 25.25 | 1.4 ± 0.06 | 406 ± 8.05 | 362 ± 15.63 | 26.7 ± 7.82 | Moist grassy slope with Cryptomeria japonica and Alnus nepalensis. |
| Sc6—Dhupi Dara (ES) | 2124 | 258 ± 29.01 | 1.8 ± 0.12 | 418 ± 13.11 | 378 ± 16.97 | 18.8 ± 1.97 | Forest-Shrubberies with Cryptomeria japonica. |
| Sc7—Deewani Taar (WS) | 2055 | 294 ± 35.91 | 1.2 ± 0.10 | 358 ± 10.44 | 325 ± 10.69 | 36.5 ± 7.84 | Forest-Shrubberies with the dominance of Alnus nepalensis. |
| Sc8—Gumpa Dara (WS) | 1987 | 260 ± 31.58 | 1.2 ± 0.06 | 372 ± 4.16 | 351 ± 4.58 | 29.7 ± 4.27 | Forest-shrubberies with Cryptomeria japonica and Alnus nepalensis. |
| Sc9—Hilley (WS) | 2697 | 260 ± 33.55 | 1.4 ± 0.12 | 389 ± 9.54 | 369 ± 10.00 | 44.3 ± 3.71 | Forest-Shrubberies with Lithocarpus pachyphylla and Arundinaria maling. |
| Sc10—Tendong (SS) | 2099 | 230 ± 33.07 | 1.6 ± 0.10 | 390 ± 10.97 | 372 ± 7.51 | 27.0 ± 2.23 | Forest-Shrubberies with Castanopsis tribuloides and Quercus sp as dominant. |
| Sc11—Ravangla (SS) | 2160 | 256 ± 23.06 | 1.3 ± 0.00 | 320 ± 6.03 | 297 ± 3.21 | 25.6 ± 8.88 | Mixed forest of Castanopsis tribuloides, Quercus lamellosa, Machilus edulis, and Cinnamomum tamala. |
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| LSD (P < 0.05) | 38.49 | 0.14 | 21.53 | 21.14 | 10.54 | ||
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| F value | 5.23 | 15.95 | 76.93 | 12.94 | 4.23 | ||
ES: East Sikkim; WS: West Sikkim; NS: North Sikkim; SS: South Sikkim; ± denotes the standard deviation.