Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 September 2019 | 11(12): 14606–14611

 

 

 

Three grasses (Poaceae), additions to the flora of Andhra Pradesh, India

 

Anil Kumar Midigesi 1 & Boyina Ravi Prasad Rao 2

 

1,2 Department of Botany, Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Ananthapuramu, Andhra Pradesh 515003, India.

1 anilbcdl@gmail.com, 2 biodiversityravi@gmail.com (corresponding author)

 

 

 

Abstract: Bothriochloa insculpta (A. Rich.) A. Camus, Cyrtococcum patens (L.) A. Camus var. patens and Sacciolepis myosuroides (R. Br.) A. Camus. (Panicoideae: Poaceae) are three grasses that were collected from Chittoor and Visakhapatnam districts of Andhra Pradesh.  They are being reported here as new records for Andhra Pradesh State.  Descriptions, illustrations, and important notes are provided for all the species.

 

Keywords: Angiosperm, Chittoor, new records, Visakhapatnam.

 

Abrrevations: SKU—Sri Krishnadevaraya University Herbarium

 

 

doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4556.11.12.14606-14611  

 

Editor: N.P. Balakrishnan, Coimbatore, India. Date of publication: 26 September 2019 (online & print)

 

Manuscript details: #4556 | Received 06 September 2018 | Final received 05 August 2019 | Finally accepted 22 August 2019

 

Citation: Midigesi, A.K. & B.R.P. Rao (2019). Three grasses (Poaceae), additions to the flora of Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 11(12): 14606–14611. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4556.11.12.14606-14611

 

Copyright: © Midigesi & Rao 2019. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi; National Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: Senior author is grateful to University Grants Commission (UGC) for BSR– One Time Grant Project (No. F.19–151/2015 (BSR)). The first author is grateful to National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSC/FEG/VCP–2015) for the Senior Research Fellowship. Authors also thank Andhra Pradesh Forest Department according permission to the field work. We thank Mr. A. Sreenath and Mr. P. Anjaneyulu for their help in field work.

 

 

 

Floristic explorations in different parts of Andhra Pradesh from 2016 to 2017, yielded a few grass specimens from the Horsley Hills of Chittoor District, Paderu cultivated fields and the Lambasingi Ghat of Visakhapatnam District.  After careful examination and identification with obtainable literature (Fischer 1928; Bor 1960; Kabeer & Nair 2009) these have been identified as Bothriochloa insculpta, Cyrtococcum patens var. patens, and Sacciolepis myosuroides. 

Bothriochloa Kuntze comprising 35 species are distributed in Africa, Australasia, Europe, North & South America, Pacific, temperate & tropical Asia (Clayton et al. 2006), and represented by 17 species in India (Kabeer & Nair 2009), of which four are recorded in Andhra Pradesh (Pullaiah 2018).  Cyrtococcum Stapf, comprising 15 species are distributed in Africa, Australasia, North & South America, Pacific, temperate & tropical Asia (Clayton et al. 2006) and represented by six species in India (Moulik 2007; Kabeer & Nair 2009) of which five are known to be distributed in Andhra Pradesh.  Sacciolepis Nash comprising about 25 species are distributed in Africa, Australasia, North & South America, Pacific, temperate & tropical Asia (Clayton et al. 2006) and represented by four species in India (Karthikeyan et al.1989; Moulik 1997; Kabeer & Nair 2009), of which two are recorded from Andhra Pradesh.

A perusal of the literature pertaining to Andhra Pradesh State (Fischer 1928; Moulik 1997; Kabeer & Nair 2009; Pullaiah 2018) revealed that these three grass taxa have not been reported till date and the present collections form new distribution records for the state.  Descriptions, illustrations, important notes and other details are provided for the three taxa.

 

Bothriochloa insculpta (A. Rich.) A. Camus in Ann. Soc. Linn. Lyon n. s., 76: 165. 1931; Bor, Grasses Burma, Ceylon, India & Pakistan: 107. 1960; Moulik, Grass. Bamb. India 1:  266. 1997. Andropogon insculptus Hochst. ex A. Rich., Tent. Fl. Abyss. 2: 458. 1851.  Andropogon pertusus var. insculptus (A. Rich.) Hack., Monogr. Phan.6: 482. 1889; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 7: 174. 1896. Amphilophis insculpta (Hochst.) Stapf, Fl. Trop. Afr. 9: 176. 1917; C.E.C. Fisch. in Fl. Madras 3: 1732. 1934 (Fig. 1; Image 1).

Specimen examined: 51982 (SKU), 5.ix.2016, the Horsley Hills, Chittoor Distirct, Andhra Pradesh, India, coll. B. Ravi Prasad Rao & M. Anil Kumar

Perennials. Culms erect or rambling, up to 2.5m high; nodes hairy, basal nodes stilt rooted. Leaf sheaths glabrous, as long as or longer than nodes, 7–14 cm long, shortly ciliate at mouth; ligule membranous, shortly ciliate at apex; blades linear-lanceolate, glabrous, mid nerve prominent, 20–28 × 0.6–0.8 cm long.  Inflorescence of racemes, racemes digitate or sub digitate, racemes rachis internodes with translucent canal.  Spikelets binate; sessile bisexual; pedicelled male.  Sessile spikelet: 2–flowered, oblong–lanceolate, 4.25–4.5 mm long, awned.  Lower glumes oblong–lanceolate, membranous – thinly chartaceous, flat, glabrous on dorsal surface, with a pit, margin narrowly winged in upper half, wings ciliate, apex shortly 2-lobed, 9–11-nerved, nerved inconspicuous; upper glumes lanceolate, membranous, boat shaped, glabrous, lower margins sparsely ciliate hairy, apex acuminate, 1-keeled, 3-nerved.  Florets 2; lower barren; upper bisexual.  Lower lemmas hyaline, nerveless, 2.8–3.2 mm long.  Lower paleas minute or absent. Upper lemmas reduced to the base of awn, principal lemma awn from the apex, geniculate, 11–14 mm long over all; column twisted, scabrid on margins, 6–8 mm long; bristle 4–6 mm long. Paleas minute or absent.  Stamen 3, anthers 1–1.5 mm long.  Ovary ovate-oblong.  Stigmas 2, plumose.  Caryopsis not seen.  Pedicelled spikelets: oblong-lanceolate, chartaceous, male, unawned; pedicel of pedicelled spikelets 2–3 mm long with a translucent canal, hairy on margins, 0.75 length of sessile spikelet.  Lower glumes oblong-lanceolate, cartilaginous, glabrous on dorsal surface, pitted, pits 3 (2–4), glandular, margins narrowly winged in upper half, ciliate on margins, 11–13-nerved, nerved conspicuous; upper glumes more or less akin to upper glumes of  sessile spikelets, 4–4.2 × c.1 mm long.  Lemmas hyaline, nerveless, 2.5–2.8 mm long, unawned.  Stamens 3, anthers 1–1.5 mm long.

Habitat & Ecology: Usually grows at high altitudes (above1100m).

Flowering &  fruiting: November–March.

Distribution: India (Bihar, Maharashtra and peninsular India); Africa; western Indian ocean; Australasia; Europe; South America; temperate and tropical Asia.

 

Cyrtococcum patens (L.) A. Camus in Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. 27: 118. 1921, var. patens; C.E.C. Fisch. in Fl. Madras 3: 1786. 1934; Bor, Grasses Burma, Ceylon, India  & Pakistan: 292. 1960; Moulik, Grass. Bamb. Ind. 1. 86. 1997. Panicum patens L.,  Sp. Pl.: 58. 1753. Cyrtococcum radicans (Retz.) Stapf., Hooker’s Icon. Pl. 31: t.  3096. 1922; C.E.C. Fisch. in Fl. Madras 3: 1786. 1934. Panicum radicans Retz., Obsser.  Bot. 4: 18. 1786. Cyrtococcum muricatum (Retz.) Bor, Grasses Burma, Ceylon, India &  Pakistan: 291. 1960. Panicum radicans Retz., Observ. Bot. 4: 18. 1786.  (Fig. 2; Image 2).

Specimen examined: 52962 (SKU), Lambasingi Ghat, 13.xii.2017, Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh, coll. B. Ravi Prasad Rao & M. Anil Kumar.

Annuals or perennials.  Culms slender, erect, creeping, matt-forming, up to 40cm high. Leaf sheaths ciliate on one margin; ligules membranous 1–2 mm long; blades linear-lanceolate, dorsal surface ciliate with tubercle-based hairs, acuminate at apex, 2.5–12.5 × 0.5–1.2 cm long. Inflorescence of panicles, 5–10 cm long.  Spikelets in pairs, one with short pedicel, another one with long pedicel, gibbose, 1.4–1.6 × c.1mm long.  Lower glumes ovate, nearly as long as broad, margins much expanded or winged in the lower half, acute at apex, 3-nerved, c. 1× 0.9 mm long; upper glumes helmet shaped, elliptic-oblong, membranous, tuberculate ciliate on surface, 3-nerved, c.1.5 × c. 0.5 mm long.  Florets 2, lower sterile; upper bisexual.  Lower lemmas similar to upper glumes, longer than fertile lemmas, tuberculate ciliate on surface, obtuse at apex, 3-nerved.  Lower palea absent.  Upper lemmas gibbose, crustaceous, obtuse or subcute, with an appendage at apex, scarcely 3-nerved, c.1.2 × 0.8 mm long.  Paleas obtuse at apex, as long as its lemmas, coriaceous, 2-keeled, 2-nerved, 1.2 × c. 0.4 mm long.  Stamen 3.  Stigmas 2, plumose.  Caryopsis not seen.

Habitat & Ecology: Found under the shades of trees in moist deciduous forests.

Flowering & fruiting: July–May

Distribution: India (Andaman, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal); Sri Lanka, southeastern Asia.

Note: There are two forms in Cyrtococcum patens (L.) A. Camus var. patens: one has spikelets with glabrous nature and the other with verrucose.  There is regular confusion while treating var. latifolium and var. patens as both have longer pedicels; var. latifolium pedicels, however, are very long and capillary; while in var. patens they are relatively shorter, but always longer than the length of spikelets.  Bor (1960) treated spikelets with verrucose as a separate species, i.e., C. muricatum (Retz.)  Bor, but now it has been made a synonym to the var. patens.  In our present collections only one specimen has glabrous spikelets and remaining are with tuberculate or verrucose spikelets.  Since C. muricatum has been reduced as a synonym to var. patens, the identification became much confused and also resolves the confusion in the occurrence of the taxon in Andhra Pradesh.

 

Sacciolepis myosuroides (R.Br.) A. Camus in Fl. Indo–Chine 7: 460. 1922; C.E.C. Fisch.  in Fl. Madras 3: 1786. 1934; Bor, Grasses Burma, Ceylon, India & Pakistan: 358. 1960;  Moulik, Grass. Bamb. Ind. 1. 149. 1997. Panicum myosuroides R. Br., Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holl. 189.  1810; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India. 7:  42. 1896.   (Fig. 3; Image 3).

Specimen examined: 52840 (SKU),13.xii.2017, Paderu fields, Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh, India, coll. B. Ravi Prasad Rao, M. Anil Kumar & P. Anjaneyulu.

Annuals.  Culms erect, tufted or decumbent at base, up to 1.1m high, nodes glabrous. Leaf sheaths glabrous or scabrid, 5–8 cm long; ligules membranous, truncate; blades linear-lanceolate, glabrous or scabrid, base rounded, acuminate at apex, 10–20 × 4 cm long. Inflorescence of panicles, spiciform, usually dark purple when young, 3–20 cm long.  Spikelets ovate-obovate to oblong, elliptic, obtuse at apex, 1.2–1.6 × c. 1mm long.  Lower glumes ovate, chartaceous, 5-nerved, 0.6–0.8 × c. 0.6–0.8 mm long; upper glumes as long as lemmas, glabrous, 7–9-nerved, c.1.5 mm long.  Lower lemmas akin to upper glumes, 5–7-nerved, 1.2–1.4 mm long.  Lower paleas more or less enveloped, elliptic, hyaline, 2-nerved, c. 0.5 mm long. Upper lemmas elliptic, coriaceous, 3-nerved, nerves obscure, 0.8–1.1 mm long.  Upper paleas as long as upper lemmas, elliptic, 2-nerved. Stamen 3, anthers 0.4mm long.  Ovary 0.3mm long, elliptic. Stigmas 2, plumose, 0.6mm long.  Caryopsis ellipsoid, c. 0.5mm long.

Habitat & Ecology: Very common weed of cultivated fields, especially in paddy and similar swampy habitats.

Flowering & fruiting: July–January

Conservation status: Least concern (LC).

Distribution: India (Andaman, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal); Africa, Australasia, North & South America, Pacific, and temperate & tropical Asia.

 

Notes

1. Sacciolepis myosuroides is often confused and also erroneously identified as S. indica. Many characters are intermediate between S. indica and S. myosuroides, but can be easily identifiable by its smaller (c. 1.5mm), glabrous spikelets.

2. The species recorded was from Warangal and Medak districts in Telangana region of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.  All the publications prior to 2014 (Kabeer & Nair 2009; Mani 2011) mentioned its distribution as Andhra Pradesh.  Since there are no records for the species from present day Andhra Pradesh state till date, the present collection forms a new distribution record for the same.

 

 

For figures – click here

 

 

References

 

Bor, N. L. (1960). The grasses of Burma, Ceylon, India and Pakistan (excluding  Bambuseae). Pergamon Press, London, 767pp.

Clayton, W.D., M.S. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson (2006). Grass Base the online world grass flora. http://www.kew.org/data/grass.db.html.  Accessed on 19 Aug 2018.

Fischer, C.E.C. (1928). Poaceae. In: Gamble, J.S. (ed.). Flora of the Presidency of  Madras– Vol. 3. Adlard & Son Ltd., London, 2017pp.

Kabeer, K.A.A. & V.J. Nair (2009). Flora of Tamil Nadu–Grasses. Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, 525pp.

Karthikeyan, S., S.K. Jain, M.P. Nayar & M. Sanjappa (1989). Florae Indica Enumeration: Monocotyledonae. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta, 435pp.

Mani, S. (2011). Sacciolepis mysuroides. The IUCN Red List Of Threatened Species 2011: e. T177094A7359653. Downloaded on 29 August 2018. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T177094A7359653.en

Moulik, S. (1997). The Grasses and Bamboos of India - 2 Vols. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur.  700pp.

Pullaiah, T. (2018). Flora of Andhra Pradesh, 2nd edition. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur, 2450pp.