The flora deals with Sirmaur District of Himachal Pradesh situated in N-W Himalaya. It has a mosaic of mountain ranges, Hills and Valleys. Churdhar, situated at the border of Shimla and Sirmaur District, with the highest peak (3647 m) in Southern Himachal Pradesh, is considered as the Kailash mountain of Sirmaur. The trek-paths to this majestic peak are surrounded by conifers and rhododendrons. The green meadows with the backdrop of misty mountains provide a breathtaking view. Churdhar, Renuka lake and Paonta Sahib are the important pilgrimage centres in the district. The luxuriant vegetation has fascinated the botanists ever since 1817 when G. Govan visited Nahan to set up a nursery, as a branch of Saharnpur Garden. Though mention of the locality ‘Sirmaur’ or ‘Sirmour’ is occasionally found in Hooker’s ‘Flora of British India’ but hardly any serious floristic survey work has been done in this area. Therefore the present manual is the first serious taxonomic research on the vegetation of the district incorporating systematic field surveys and study of exsiccate and literature in different herbaria for nearly a decade. The text deals with 898 species of seed plants belonging to 544 genera distributed among 139 families. In addition, 13 species have also been described under ‘Addenda’ making an aggregate of 911 species recorded from the area. Besides, a comprehensive floristic account of the existing vegetation is given. Various analyses and information of miscellaneous sorts cover the phyto-geographic, ethnobotanical and conservational aspects. Dichotomous keys have been provided for the segregation of various taxa.
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