Morphological Characterization of Rhinacanthus Species of Sri Lanka

Rhinacanthus nasutus (L.) Kurz and Rhinacanthus polonnaruwensis Cramer are medicinal plant species of Sri Lanka belonging to family Acanthaceae with anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-pyretic and anti-cancer properties. A study was conducted to investigate variations of Rhinacanthus populations using morphometric analysis. Specimens from seven districts of Sri Lanka were studied for morphological characters. A data matrix with 50 quantitative characters of 111 specimens was derived from the basic data matrix with 88 characters of 122 specimens after eliminating discrete, missing and overlapping data. Four clusters were identified falling into two major groups each corresponding to R. polonnaruwensis two clusters in one branch and R. nasutus and unknown specimens in the other. This study confirmed the existence of four distinct morphological variations within the genus Rhinacanthus in Sri Lanka. Acknowledgements: National Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka for facilities and co-operation and Prof. A. P. G. Amarasinghe, Institute of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo, Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka for advice and support. References: [1] Dassanayake MD, Clayton WD Ed. (1987) A Revised Hand book to the Flora of Ceylon, Vol. 12, Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd, New-Delhi, India, 106–109. [2] Vlas JD, Vlas J (2008) Illustrated Field Guide to Flowers of Sri Lanka, Mark booksellers and distributors (pvt) Ltd., Kandy, Sri lanka, 26.