Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 October 2021 | 13(12): 19874–19877
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6879.13.12.19874-19877
#6879 | Received 10 November 2020 | Final received
18 October 2021 | Finally accepted 20 October 2021
Additional distribution records
of Ceropegia anjanerica,
an endemic and ‘Endangered’ lantern flower of the northern Western Ghats, India
Samir Shrikant Maity 1, Ajay Natha Gangurde 2, Sharad Suresh Kambale 3, Avinash Ramchandra Gholave 4,
Avinash Asraji Adsul 5, Ganesh Babaso
Pawar 6 & Kumar Vinod Chhotupuri Gosavi 7
1,7 Department of Botany, Gokhale
Education Society’s HPT Arts and RYK Science College, Nashik, Maharashtra
422005, India.
2 Department of Botany, Savitribai
Phule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra 411007, India.
3 Department of Botany, Maratha
Vidya Prasarak Samaj’s
Arts, Commerce & Science College, Tryambakeshwar,
Nashik, Maharashtra 422212, India.
4 Department of Botany, K.V.N. Naik
Arts, Commerce and Science College, Canada Corner, Nashik, Maharashtra 422002,
India.
5 Department of Botany, Gokhale
Education Society’s Arts, Commerce and Science College, Jawhar,
District Palghar, Maharashtra 401603, India.
6 Department
of Botany, Abasaheb Marathe
Arts and New Commerce, Science College, Rajapur,
District-Ratnagiri, Maharashtra 416702, India.
1samirmaity6888@gmail.com, 2ajaygangurde98@gmail.com,
3skambalesu@gmail.com (corresponding author), 4agholave@gmail.com,
5avinash.adsul@gmail.com, 6pawargb22@gmail.com, 7kumarvinodgosavi@gmail.com
Editor: Anonymity
requested. Date of publication:
26 October 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Maity, S.S., A.N. Gangurde,
S.S. Kambale, A.R. Gholave, A.A. Adsul,
G.B. Pawar & K.V.C. GosavI
(2021). Additional distribution records
of Ceropegia anjanerica,
an endemic and ‘Endangered’ lantern flower of the northern Western Ghats,
India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(12): 19874–19877. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6879.13.12.19874-19877
Copyright: © Maity
et al. 2021. 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: Self-funded.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: The authors thank the principals
of their respective colleges for necessary facilities; Dr.
Amol Mamlaya, Arts, Commerce and Science College, Mokhada for help during field work; Mr. Pankaj Garg (DCF),
Mrs. Ratna Tuplondhe, Mr.
Sujit Bokade, Mr. Dnyaneshwar Shinde, Mr. Haribhau Nimbekar, Mr. Sanjay Badade, Mr.
Kailas Nimbekar & Mr. Bablu
Dive (Forest guards, Maharashtra Forest Department, Nashik West) for necessary
help; and Mr. Rangnath Burange
for information on the locality details.
Genus Ceropegia
L. (s.s.) (Ceropegiae: Apocynaceae) is represented by more than 260 taxa worldwide
(The Plant List 2013) and distributed in the Canary Islands, India, Madagascar,
New Guinea, northern Australia, southeastern Asia, tropical Arabica, and Africa
except the Mediterranean region (Meve 2002). It is
represented by 62 taxa in India and 26 taxa in Maharashtra (Kambale & Yadav
2019; Murugesan et al. 2019). Nashik district represents six species and two
varieties of Ceropegia, viz., Ceropegia anjanerica
Malpure, M.Y.Kamble & S.R.Yadav, C. bulbosa Roxb. var. bulbosa, C. bulbosa Roxb. var. lushii (Graham) Hook.f., C.
hirsuta Wight & Arn.,
C. lawii Hook.f., C.
mahabalei Hemadri &
Ansari, C. media (H.Huber) Ansari, and C. vincifolia Hook (List modified based on personal
observations, after Lakshminarasimhan & Sharma
1991).
Ceropegia anjanerica is an ‘Endangered’ (Pethe & Watve 2021) and
endemic flytrap flower and has recently been reported from adjacent area called
Navardev, Kushegaon, Igatpuri tehsil of Nashik district (Auti
et al. 2019).
As a part of floristic studies on
Tryambakeshwar and surrounding areas, various places
have been surveyed by the authors. A recent survey made of the Bhaskargad, Bramha Hill, Bramhagiri Hill, Harihar Fort, Vatvad
Hill, (Nashik District) resulted in the collection of Ceropegia
anjanerica (Malpure et
al. 2006).
Ceropegia anjanerica Malpure,
M.Y.Kamble & S.R. Yadav Curr.
Sci. 91(9): 1141. 2006; Karthik. et al. Fl. Pl. India 1: 160. 2009; Kambale
& S.R.Yadav, Asklepios
115: 29. 2013; Kambale & S.R.Yadav, Rheedea 29(1): 93; Auti et al.
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 116. 181. 2019. (Fig. 1, Table 1).
Perennial, erect, tuberous herbs.
Stems rarely two per tuber. Leaves scabrous above, along midrib, and margin,
lamina lamina elliptic-narrowly elliptic, 1.3–3.7 ×
0.3–1.1 cm, glabrous otherwise. Inflorescence an extra-axillary solitary
flower; corolla tube up to 1.9 cm long, gradually dilated at base,
funnel-shaped towards throat, slightly curved, greenish-grey, striated with
deep purple lines within, white otherwise, glabrous within; corolla lobes
1.4–1.9 cm long, greenish-yellow, obovate, attenuate, finely pubescent
throughout, connate at the tip, lobes reflexed. Corona biseriate, stipitate;
outer corona of five bifid lobes, 2×2 mm, yellow, ciliate within and along
margin; inner corona of five erect linear lobes, c. 2 mm long, alternating with
outer corona. Follicles usually in pairs, straight, tapering to a fine point,
erect. Seeds ovoid, oblong, comose; coma white,
silky.
Flowering & Fruiting:
July–November.
Distribution: Endemic to the
northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra (Nashik district).
Habitat: Grows at an altitude of
about 1,300 m in well-drained soil, in association with Cyanotis
fasciculata (B. Heyne ex Roth) Schult.f., Justicia procumbens L., Senecio
bombayensis N.P. Balakr.
and Swertia minor Knobl.
Specimens examined: SSK-5420,
19.vii.2020, India, Maharashtra, Nashik District, Tryambakeshwar,
Umbhrande, Vatvad Hill,
coll. S.S. Kambale (Image 3); SSK-5421, 28.vii.2020, Bhaskargad,
coll. A.N. Gangurde & S.S. Maity;
SSK-5422, 3.viii.2020, Harshvadi, Harihar Fort, coll.
S.S. Maity & A.N. Gangurde;
SSK-5423, 4.viii.2020, Tryambakeshwar, Bramhagiri Hill, coll. S.S. Maity
& A.N. Gangurde; SSK-5427, 6.ix.2020, Bramha Hill, Harshvadi-Talegaon,
coll. A.N. Gangurde, S.S. Maity,
A.A. Adsul & S.S. Kambale (All specimens are in
the Herbarium of Department of Botany, Arts, Commerce & Science College, Tryambakeshwar).
Notes: These peculiar flytrap
flowers remained unnoticed despite the localities of their occurrence were
frequently visited by both botanists and amateur plant photographers. Vatvad Hill, Bhaskargad, Harihar Fort, and Brahmagiri
are the places of the public interest and visited for adventurous treks during
and after monsoon. Authors have visited Bramhagiri
Hill several times, however, never encountered with Ceropegia
anjanerica. This year when we visited Vatvad Hill during monsoon (July 2020) we observed healthy
population of Ceropegia anjanerica.
Then, we thought that the species may occur wherever similar habitats are
available. Such similar habitats are available on the very next rock outcrops
which are Bhaskargad, Harihar fort, Bramha Hill and Bramhagiri
Hill. Surveys undertaken to these places
resulted in the collection of Ceropegia anjanerica. This collection highlights the need of
designated surveys to locate such endemic species which are reported from their
type localities only. This will help in prioritizing the conservation of
threatened species.
Conservation status: Ceropegia anjanerica
was assessed as Critically Endangered [CR B1ab (iii,v)
+ B2 ab (iii)] by Pethe et al. (2015) and as
‘Endangered’ by Pethe & Watve
(2021) based on additional four locations on the IUCN Red List. Though the type
locality, i.e., Anjaneri Hills, Nashik, is declared
as an ‘Anjaneri Conservation Reserve’ and due care has
been taken by Maharashtra Forest Department for its conservation, other
localities are under constant anthropogenic pressure. Other than Anjaneri Conservation Reserve, all the localities are
tourist places and therefore, frequent trampling by tourists will certainly
destroy the habitats. Grazing is not a severe threat at the above mentioned
localities. Controlled tourism and awareness amongst tourists will help in
reducing the threat to some extent. Unnecessary uprooting of the tuber just for
the sake of growing this endemic species in captivity should be avoided as it
will not survive outside its habitat more than a year or so if appropriate care
is not taken.
Table 1. Comparison of characters
at different populations.
|
Character |
Anjaneri |
Bramhagiri |
Harihar fort |
Kushegaon |
|
Arrangement of leaves |
opposite-decussate |
whorled (Image 1B) |
opposite-decussate |
opposite-decussate |
|
Lamina shape |
elliptic-narrowly elliptic |
elliptic-narrowly elliptic |
linear to lanceolate |
elliptic-narrowly elliptic |
|
Corolla tube |
green |
green |
green |
red at the upper half (Image 1C) |
|
Corolla lobes |
Yellowish-green |
Yellowish-green |
Yellowish-green |
yellow with reddish tinge
(Image 1C) |
References
Auti, S.G., K.V.C. Gosavi, S. Golait & S.S.
Kambale (2019). Notes on Ceropegia anjanerica (Family:
Apocynaceae): a critically endangered and endemic
‘fly trap flower’ of northern Western Ghats. Journal of the Bombay Natural
History Society 116: 181–182.
Kambale, S.S.
& S.R. Yadav (2019). Taxonomic revision of Ceropegia (Apocynaceae: Ceropegieae) in
India. Rheedea 29(1): 1–115.
Lakshminarasimhan, P. & B.D. Sharma (1991). Flora of Nashik District.
Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta, 644pp.
Malpure, N.V., M.Y. Kamble
& S.R. Yadav (2006). A new species of Ceropegia L. (Asclepiadaceae) from Western Ghats of India with a note on
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Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. http://www.theplantlist.org/ Accessed July 30, 2020.