BIONATURE

Wildlife sanctuaries constitute an essential component of India’s protected area network and play a pivotal role in conserving plant diversity across heterogeneous landscapes. Central India, comprising the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, represents a biogeographically complex region harbouring tropical moist and dry deciduous forests, grasslands, wetlands and riverine ecosystems. Despite the ecological significance of these protected areas, floristic knowledge across wildlife sanctuaries of Central India remains uneven and fragmented. The present review synthesizes published floristic, ethnobotanical and ecological studies from 63 wildlife sanctuaries under the jurisdiction of the Botanical Survey of India–Central Regional Centre (BSI–CRC). Based on the extent, taxonomic coverage and temporal depth of available studies, sanctuaries were categorised as well explored, moderately explored, poorly explored or unexplored. The review reveals that nearly half of the sanctuaries remain poorly explored or lack of baseline floristic inventories with research strongly biased towards angiosperms and ethnomedicinal plants. Cryptogamic groups, habitat-wise floristic patterns, long-term monitoring and periodic revisions are largely neglected. The paper highlights critical gaps in floristic exploration and proposes strategic priorities for Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Central Regional Centre (CRC) Prayagraj Uttar Pradesh to strengthen botanical documentation, data integration and conservation planning in wildlife sanctuaries of Central India.