Q. Describe Ecological phytosociological?
Field studies are desirable for an understanding of the relationship of any group of plants. If it is not possible to study the plants in the field you should grow these plants in one or more test gardens. Seeds and plants for this purpose could be obtained from indigenous source. While making an ecological study in the field record the season of flowering and of fruiting and collect material in all stages of development. Make a note of precise locations of collections, habitat types and of soil characteristics. Make a detailed study of characters often lost in the dried specimens like colouration of foliage and floral parts, smell, presence or absence of latex, corolla ve rnation, corolla colour and anther colour before and after dehiscence. Also, make a note of viscidity of parts especially nectariferous organs. Look for pollinating agencies and record the time of pollination. Texture of foliage and perianth parts is of great importance and also colour of freshly matured fruits. You should remember that root stock characters often provide immense information and should not be overlooked. While making a phytosociological study, determine the natural variation within and between populations. Assign a different collection number to specimens from different colonies within the same general area. If the material is growing in abundance prepare four or five sets of duplicate collections and on completion of the study you can distribute it to important herbaria. You will learn more about herbaria in next section. Mass collection will also provide a means of determining relationships with greater accuracy and whether a variation is one associated with or restricted to colonies, to habitats or to regions. From this information you can determine that a population represents a sub species, variety or forma. Collect those parts that are significant for their characters and also random samples. Collect about 50 samples of a population after proper selection and this will constitute the material for study and permanent herbarium record compiling information on frequency of variation, discontinuity of variation and correlation between variables.