International Journal of Botany Studies 18 International Journal of Botany Studies ISSN: 2455-541X; Impact Factor: RJIF 5.12 Received: 04-08-2019; Accepted: 06-09-2019 www.botanyjournals.com Volume 4; Issue 6; November 2019; Page No. 18-22 An annotated list of trees of Rajshahi city, Bangladesh M Tarikul Hasan Department of Botany, Abdulpur Government College, Natore, Bangladesh Abstract Enumeration of trees in the Rajshahi city was carried out from July 2018 to June 2019. A total of 140 species belonging to 48 families were encountered. The major families of tree species were Caesalpiniaceae, Mimosaceae and Moraceae. Among total number of the species, 42 plants were found to be wild and 8 plants were newly acclimatized. Besides this 18 “Star Tree” have also been found. On the basis of uses, 52 trees as ornamental, 39 trees as edible fruits and 21 as timber yielding plants were found. Alangium salviifolium (L.f.) Wangerin, Haldina cordifolia (Roxb.) Ridsdale, Artocarpus lacucha Buch.-Ham, Grevillea robusta A.Cunn ex R.Br, Putranjiva roxburghii Wall. and Suregada multiflora (A.Juss.) Baill found vulnerable in the study area. However, the present work will be helpful to the researcher for the estimation of tree species diversity in the Rajshahi City. Keywords: tree, star tree, Rajshahi, Bangladesh Introduction Trees have been venerated since time immemorial. To the ancient Celts, certain trees, especially the oak, ash and thorn, held special significance as providing fuel, building materials, ornamental objects and weaponry. Other cultures have similarly revered trees, often linking the lives and fortunes of individuals to them or using them as oracles. In Greek mythology, dryads were believed to be shy nymphs who inhabited the trees. Some Ancient Indian tree deities, such as Puliyidaivalaiyamman, the Tamil deity of the tamarind tree, or Kadambariyamman, associated with the kadamba tree were seen as manifestations of a goddess who offer her blessings by giving fruits in abundance. According to The Vedic astrology, in our planetary system there are 27 stars and 9 planets. Every star has a symbolic tree or plant that defines its connection with eternal nature and this symbolic tree or plant is called “Star Tree”. So there are 27 star trees or plants on the earth [15] . In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, supporting branches and leaves in most species. Trees are not a taxonomic group but include a variety of plant species that have independently evolved a woody trunk and branches as a way to tower above other plants to compete for sunlight. Trees tend to be long-lived, some reaching several thousand years old. In wider definitions, the taller palms, tree ferns, bananas, and bamboos are also trees. Trees are also an important part of the terrestrial ecosystem, providing essential habitats including many kinds of forests for communities of organisms. On the ground underneath trees there is shade, and often there is undergrowth, leaf litter, and decaying wood that provide other habitat. Cultivated trees are planted and tended by humans, usually because they provide foods (fruits or nuts), ornamental beauty, or some type of wood products that benefit the people. Unfortunately, the number of such types of plant species is rapidly decreasing due to urbanization. As a result many species of trees especially grown naturally are now extinct or nearly extinct. Therefore, an enumeration of tree occurring in Rajshahi City is much wanting. Definitely, such a list would help researchers to distinguish the distribution and diversity of tree species in this city. The importance of studying local floristic diversity has been realized and carried out in deferent location by several researchers [2-4, 8-10, 12-14, 16] . Thus the present study was made tree species diversity in the Rajshahi city, Bangladesh Materials and Methods Study Area Geographically Rajshahi is situated within Barind Tract, 23 m above sea level, lies in between 24'20' and 24'24' north latitudes and in between 88'32' and 88'40' East longitudes. The area of Rajshahi City is 95.56 sq km and It is bounded by Paba upazila on all sides [6] (Figure 1). Under Koppen climate classification, Rajshahi has a tropical wet and dry climate [5] .