SCIENTIFIC CORRESPONDENCE CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 116, NO. 11, 10 JUNE 2019 1792 Part-1 (Lycopodiaceae to Thelypterida- ceae), Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun, 2016. 3. Jiao, Y. and Li, C.-S., Yunnan Ferns of China, Science Press, Beijing, China, 2001, p. 40. 4. Linden, J., Hortus Lindenianus. Jardin Royal de zoologie et d’horticulture, Bruxelles, 1859. 5. Fraser-Jenkins, C. R., The First Botani- cal Collectors in Nepal, The Fern Col- lections of Hamilton, Gardner and Wallich – Lost Herbaria, a Lost Botanist, Lost Letters and Lost Books, Somewhat Rediscovered, Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun, 2006. 6. Moore, T., Gard. Chronicle Agric. Gaz., 1860, 10(3), 217. 7. Linden, J., Gard. Chronicle Agric. Gaz., 1860, 11(2), 123. 8. Lowe, E. J., A Natural History of New and Rare Ferns, Groombridge and Sons, London, UK, 1864. 9. Hieronymus, G., Hedwigia, 1914, 55, 325–375. 10. Fraser-Jenkins, C. 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Lallawmkimi and Lalramnghinglova, H., In Special Habitats and Threatened Plants of India (ed. Rawat, G. S.), ENVIS Wildlife and Protected Areas, 2008, p. 91. 19. Chandra, S., Fraser-Jenkins, C. R., Ku- mari, A. and Srivastava, A., Taiwania, 2008, 53(2), 170–209. 20. IUCN, Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0, IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, 2012. 21. Kholia, B. S., Curr. Sci., 2010, 99(8), 999. 22. Fraser-Jenkins, C. R., Kandel, D. R. and Pariyar, S., Ferns and Fern-Allies of Nepal – 1, National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories, Department of Plant Resources, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2015. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. We thank Dr A. A. Mao (Director, BSI, Shillong) for encou- ragement; Dr Ramesh Kumar (BSI, Jodhpur) for help during field survey. Chris Fraser- Jenkins (Nepal and Portugal) for information on herbarium specimens and global popula- tion of this species and the State Forest De- partments of the surveyed areas for logistic support. Received 18 February 2019; revised accepted 1 April 2019 SACHIN SHARMA 1 BHUPENDRA SINGH KHOLIA 1, * AMIT KUMAR 2 AMBER SRIVASTAVA 1 SURENDRA SINGH BARGALI 3 1 Botanical Survey of India, Northern Regional Centre, Dehradun 248 195, India 2 Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248 001, India 3 Department of Botany, Kumaun University, Nainital 263 001, India *For correspondence. e-mail: bskholiabsi@gmail.com Accelerating regeneration of threatened wild banana (Musa paramjitiana L.J. Singh) endemic to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) Islands in the Bay of Bengal are known to harbour 2426 species of angiosperms, of which about 300 are endemic to these islands 1 . This diversity includes taxa of ecological and economic importance. The wealth of horticulturally useful species, including their wild relatives present in these Islands has been documented 2 . However, new species having potential agricultural importance are being discovered and re- ported regularly as large areas of these islands are yet to be explored systemati- cally 3 . Recently, a new endemic species of seeded wild banana, viz. Musa param- jitiana L.J. Singh has been reported from the Andaman Islands 3 , with observations on multiplication of species under field conditions. However, the threats posed by human interventions and damage by elephants have led to restricted distribu- tion of the species in Andaman Islands and its categorization as ‘Critically En- dangered’ species 3 . Under such condi- tions, assisted regeneration of species by raising nursery would be advantageous. Here, we studed the effect of seed treat- ments and substrates on germination and seedling growth parameters in the spe- cies for facilitating its conservation and further use in research. Fully mature fruits of M. paramjitiana were collected from Dhanikhari Experi- mental Garden cum Arboretum of Botan- ical Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre, Port Blair, and were allowed to ripe naturally. Seeds were extracted from fruits, pulp was washed and seeds were soaked overnight in fungicide (carbendazim, 0.1%) as prophylactic measure before undergoing any treatment. Seeds were divided into different groups and subjected to the fol- lowing treatments. T 1 : untreated control; T 2 : water soaking (24 h); T 3 : gibberellic acid (GA 3 ) (500 mg/l, 24 h); T 4 : KNO 3 (0.1%, 24 h); T 5 : mechanical scarifica- tion + water soaking (24 h); T 6 : mechan- ical scarification + GA 3 (500 mg/l, 24 h) and T 7 : mechanical scarification + KNO 3 (0.1%, 24 h). Scarification was done by carefully removing a small portion of seed coat using sharp scissors. Seeds were sown in pro-trays filled with coir pith. The experiment was laid in com- pletely randomized design with three replications of 20 seeds each.