Micropropagation of Stemona tuberosa Lour.—An endangered and rare medicinal plant in Eastern Ghats of India

An in vitro technique of multiple plantlet regeneration was developed for conservation of endangered wild medicinal plant Stemona tuberosa Lour.. Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 7.0 mg/L Kn (kinetin) was found to be the optimum for axillary bud proliferation and multiple shoot induction. Excision and culture of nodal segments from the in vitro-shoots on medium containing 7.0 mg/L Kn and 4.0 mg/L TDZ (thidiazuron) showed maximum number of shoot multiplication with 7.10±0.37 shoots/node. Rapid shoot growth with simultaneous tuberous root formation was also observed in the same concentration. Shoots developed were rooted best on 1⁄2 strength MS with 1.0 mg/L IAA (indole acetic acid). Plantlets established in pots exhibited 85% survival. Plantlets successfully established in field exhibited morphological characters identical to mother plants.