Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 July 2022 | 14(7): 21484–21486

 

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6321.14.7.21484-21486

#6321 | Received 22 June 2020 | Final received 29 December 2021 | Finally accepted 29 June 2022

 

 

Extended distribution of Impatiens scapiflora (Balsaminaceae) to the flora of Eastern Ghats, India

 

T.S. Saravanan 1, S. Kaliamoorthy 2, M.Y. Kamble 3 & M.U. Sharief 4

 

1–3 National Orchidarium & Experimental Garden, Botanical Survey of India, Southern Regional Centre, Yercaud, Salem District, Tamil Nadu 636602, India.

4 Botanical Survey of India, Southern Regional Centre, TNAU Campus, Lawley Road Post, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641003, India.

1 rammaheshsaran@gmail.com, 2 skmoorthybsi@gmail.com (corresponding author), 3 mayurkamble1@rediffmail.com, 4 shariefbsi@yahoo.co.in

 

 

 

Editor: A.G. Pandurangan, Centre for Innovation in Science & Social Action, Thiruvananthapuram, India.              Date of publication: 26 July 2022 (online & print)

 

Citation: Saravanan, T.S., S. Kaliamoorthy, M.Y. Kamble & M.U. Sharief (2022). Extended distribution of Impatiens scapiflora (Balsaminaceae) to the flora of Eastern Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 14(7): 21484–21486. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6321.14.7.21484-21486

 

Copyright: © Saravanan et al.  2022. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: Botanical Survey of India in-house project.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: The authors are thankful to the director, BSI, Kolkata and scientist ‘E’ & head of office, BSI, SRC, Coimbatore, for encouragement and providing facilities; forest department authorities of Shevaroy hills, Yercaud, Salem district, Tamil Nadu, for granting permission and guidance in field.

 

 

 

During the floristic exploration in the Shevaroy Hills, Yercaud, Salem district of Tamil Nadu, the authors have collected an interesting specimens belonging to the genus Impatiens in flowering condition. After critical examination of the specimens with pertinent literature (Ramamoorthy 1978; Yoganarasimhan et al. 1982; Vajravelu 1983; Almeida 1996; Vivekananthan et al. 1997; Mudaliar & Prasad 2000; Rathakrishnan et al. 2005; Dessai & Janarthanam 2011; Bhaskar 2012), it was identified as Impatiens scapiflora B. Heyne ex Roxb. Earlier records indicate that Impatiens scapiflora occurs only in the Western Ghats (Matthew 1983; Dessai & Janarthanam 2011; Nayar et al. 2014) and hitherto not reported in the Eastern Ghats. Therefore, the present collection from Shevaroy hills, Yercaud constitute new distributional record of Impatiens scapiflora for Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu.

Impatiens scapiflora B. Heyne ex Roxb. in Fl. Ind. 2: 464. 1824; Vajravelu in Nair & Henry, Fl. Tamil Nadu 1: 56. 1983; Sharma et al. in Fl. Karnataka 39. 1984; Almeida in Fl. Maharashtra 1: 196. 1996; Saldanha in Fl. Karnataka 2: 257. 1996; Vivekananthan et al. in Hajra et al., Fl. India 4: 208. 1997; Mudaliar & Prasad in Singh & Karthikeyan, Fl. Maharashtra State Dicotyl. 1: 461. 2000; Rathakrishnan et al. in Daniel, Fl. Kerala 1:557. 2005. Dessai & Janarthanam in Rheedea 21(1): 35. 2011. (Image 1).                                                                                                    

Terrestrial scapigerous herbs, up to 21.5 cm high. Rootstocks tuberous, 1.3 cm across, oblongoid. Stems acaulescent, usually rooting at lower nodes. Leaves radical, 7.5 x 5.8 cm, reniform-orbicular, cordate-rounded at base, margins obscurely crenate-serrate, acute-obtuse at apex, sparsely pubescent above, glabrous below; petioles 15.4 cm long, glabrous, pinkish-red. Inflorescence 5-many flowered raceme. Flowers 3.7 cm across, pinkish; bracts 0.3 x 0.2 cm, ovate, acute at apex, glabrous, persistent; pedicels 4.2 cm long, slender, deflexed in fruits, glabrous; lateral sepals 0.4 x 0.2 cm, ovate, obtuse at apex, glabrous; standard petal 0.8 x 1.2 cm, reniform, obcordate at apex, glabrous; wing petals tri-lobed; basal lobe 1.4 x 0.4 cm, oblong, obtuse at apex; mid-lobe 0.8 x 1.2 cm, ovate, obtuse at apex; distal lobe 1.5 x 0.5 cm, oblong, obtuse at apex; lip 7.8 x 0.5 cm, 0.4 cm deep, saccate, acute at apex, glabrous; spur 7.5 cm long, tubular, obtuse at apex, straight, glabrous; column 0.4 x 0.2 cm; stamens 5, anthers bi-locular; ovary 5 locular, ovate-lanceoloid, glabrous; capsules 1.2 cm long, lanceoloid, glabrous; seeds many, oblongoid, brown, hairy throughout.

Specimen examined: 136013 (MH), 11.ix.2014, India: Tamil Nadu, Salem district, Yercaud, Shevaroy temple, 11.817N, 78.216E, ± 1,577 m , coll. S. Kaliamoorthy, T.S. Saravanan, & M.Y. Kamble (Image 2).          

Flowering and Fruiting: September–January.

Ecology: Growing along with grasses, Impatiens balsamina L., Drosera burmanni Vahl., and D. peltata Thunb., on wet and dripping open rocky slopes at elevations between 1,500 and 1,600 m.

Distribution: India: Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu. Endemic to Peninsular India.

Conservation status: Less than 25 individuals were noticed during the field survey at Shevaroy temple, Yercaud. Extensive field study in similar habitats in the adjacent localities is required to determine its exact IUCN threat status. Live specimens brought from the study area are being multiplied and maintained as germplasm collection at NOEG, BSI, SRC, Yercaud.

Notes: Mathew (1983) collected the species Impatiens scapiflora in Yercaud hills and included in his floristic work entitled “The flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic (VOL.3, p.194)”. Though the illustration of the species shown to be similar to I. scapiflora but was misidentified as Impatiens acaulis. This was kept unnoticed for nearly 38 years until the authors of this article collected and identified it as Impatiens scapiflora.

 

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References

 

Almeida, M.R. (1996). Flora of Maharashtra. Vol. 1. Orient Press, Mumbai, 296 pp.

Bhaskar, V. (2012). Taxonomic monograph on Impatiens L. (Balsaminaceae) of Western Ghats, South India: the key genus for endemism. Centre for Plant Taxonomic Studies, Bangalore, 283 pp.

Dessai, J.R.N. & M.K. Janarthanam (2011). The genus Impatiens (Balsaminaceae) in the northern and parts of central Western Ghats. Rheedea 21: 23–80.

Matthew, K.M. (1983). The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic series. Vol. 3. The Rabinet Herbarium, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India, 1284 pp.

Mudaliar, S.K. & V.P. Prasad (2000). Balsaminaceae, pp. 444–463. In: Singh, N.P. & S. Karthikeyan (eds.). Flora of Maharashtra State – Dicotyledones. Vol. 1. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta.

Nayar, T.S., A.R. Beegam & M. Sibi (2014). Flowering Plants of the Western Ghats, India. Vol. 1. Dicots. Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute, Kerala, 933 pp.

Ramamoorthy, T.P. (1978). Balsaminaceae, pp. 399–404. In: Saldanha, C.J. & D.H. Nicolson (eds.). Flora of Hassan District, Karnataka. Amerind Publishers, New Delhi, 923 pp.

Rathakrishnan, N.C., K. Vivekananthan & V.J. Nair (2005). Balsaminaceae, pp. 524–565. In: Daniel, P. (ed.). The Flora of Kerala. Vol. 1. Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, 883 pp.

Vajravelu, E. (1983). Balsaminaceae, pp. 53– 57. In: Nair, N.C. & A.N. Henry (Eds.). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India. Ser. 1: Analysis. Vol. 1. Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore, 184 pp.

Vivekananthan, K., N.C. Rathakrishnan, M.S. Swaminathan & L.K. Ghara (1997). Balsaminaceae, pp. 95–229. In: Hajra, P.K., V.J. Nair & P. Daniel (eds.). Flora of India. Vol. 4. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta, 561 pp.

Yoganarasimhan, S.N., K. Subramanyam & B.A. Razi (1982). Flora of Chikmagalur District, Karnataka, India. International Book Distributor, Dehra Dun,  407 pp.