The Blooms: An Illustrated Book on Colourful Flowers and Foliage of Barnagar College, Sorbhog

Barnagar College, Sorbhog, is one of the premier institutions of higher education in Barpeta district of Assam. Previously affiliated to Gauhati University, Guwahati, the college is the third oldest college in the district and has been affiliated to the Bhattadev University, Bajali since August 2024. The college has a campus spreading over 15 acres of government allotted land. Various plant species of different habits (herbs, shrubs, climbers, trees, some cryptogams) are abundantly found on the college campus, of which, majority have medicinal values. From the ecological point of view, the presence of diverse plant species on the college campus with their colourful flowers creates an eco-friendly environment fostering and enhancing the natural aura of the campus. Variety of flowers, blooming brightly, colorful with soothing fragrance add beauty to the surrounding, thus impart an aesthetic value to it. The campus also serves as an important study area for the collection of some notable bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms.

The present book entitled, ‘The Blooms: An illustrated Book on colourful flowers and foliage of Barnagar College, Sorbhog” is an initiative taken to document the flowering plants with their vibrant flowers present on the college campus. It came about due to my silent hobby of capturing beautiful images of bright blooms and my strong desire to document the bountiful green college campus and to understand more about the flowering seasons and plant diversity. Identification of plants and their classification are extremely important because taxonomy is the baseline data for all sciences. Once we gather or document a name of a species then all the information associated with it becomes accessible and available

This handbook is intended to fulfill the need of documentation of plant diversity on the campus and is published with the conviction that it will be helpful for the students as they familiarize themselves with the names of the flowering plants, the phenology and their scientific names. This handbook is a compilation of plant photographs collected on the college campus during the period 2023-2026 and thus serves as a record of the presence of the flowering plants in different seasons during the studied period. The bright blooms illustrated in this book actually help one to feel the aesthetic beauty of the college environs and also provide greater information regarding different species of plants present in different periods of a season. The handbook accounts the names of trees and ornamental plants, especially with the ones having bright blooms along with photographs of the flowers, and also includes ornamental leaves. Each photograph of the flower is followed by a scientific name along with its taxonomic hierarchy, useful for practical purposes.  Further, details of the plant with brief botanical description, its common name and family, its flowering seasons (phenology), uses, propagation techniques, and nursery management are briefly discussed for the ease in understanding. Vibrant blooms of a total of 78 plant species, belonging to different plant groups - mostly angiosperm - are recorded in this book. The plants brought under the current documentation are very common plants, widely known through ages to the people. Information on these plants is basically compiled with the intent to help students in the identification of plant species present in the college with ease. Care has been taken to compose the handbook in a simple and graspable language, and the way the description of each plant species is supported with its relevant photographs and followed by its local names is believed to encourage more non-specialists to start looking for and identifying plants while still preserving their opportunity to develop advanced knowledge. This book will be a source of information for students, plant researchers and nature lovers and will definitely invoke the interest among readers and motivate them to appreciate the nature. This book finally finds its existence because I firmly believe that by enabling others to understand the bountiful diversity that exists on Barnagar College campus can ultimately help the enlightened to appreciate the beauty of nature and inspire them towards its conservation. I hope this endeavour proves to be fruitful.