Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 May 2021 | 13(6): 18675–18678
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6934.13.6.18675-18678
#6934 | Received 26 November 2020 | Final
received 03 February 2021 | Finally accepted 08 May 2021
New distribution records of two
little known plant species, Hedychium longipedunculatum
A.R.K. Sastry & D.M. Verma (Zingiberaceae) and Mazus
dentatus Wall. ex Benth.
(Scrophulariaceae), from Meghalaya, India
M. Murugesan
Botanical Survey of India,
Southern Regional Centre, TNAU Campus, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641003, India.
Editor: Anonymity requested. Date
of publication: 26 May 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Murugesan, M. (2021). New distribution records of two little known plant species, Hedychium longipedunculatum A.R.K. Sastry & D.M. Verma
(Zingiberaceae) and Mazus
dentatus Wall. ex Benth.
(Scrophulariaceae), from Meghalaya, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(6): 18675–18678. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6934.13.6.18675-18678
Copyright: © Murugesan 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: None.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: The author is grateful to Dr. A.A. Mao, director, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata,
for providing encouragement and facilities; Dr. N. Odyuo, scientist-e & head of office, BSI, ERC, Shillong and Dr. M.U. Sharief, scientist-e & head of office, BSI, SRC,
Coimbatore for their kind help and support; Dr. Gopal
Krishna, Central National Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India, Howrah,
Kolkata; and Shri. Ajith Ashokan, Department of Biological Sciences, IISER,
Bhopal for helping in the confirmation of identity.
The East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya
home for a very rich and diverse vegetation.
It is unique in having a mixture of Asiatic and Indian peninsular
elements. Many taxonomists have carried
out taxonomic documentation in this region since the British period. A botanical exploration trip was conducted to
Mawsynram forest areas of East Khasi Hills District,
Meghalaya during March 2017–May 2018, for live plant collection under the
allotted Annual Action Plan Project on ex situ conservation of endemic and
threatened plants of northeastern India in the
Experimental Botanical Garden (EBG), Botanical Survey of India, Barapani, Shillong.
During this trip, the author came
across two interesting plant species which are growing on rocky slopes in
densely shaded areas near a stream.
Subsequently, these two species were collected and grown in the
EBG. After critical examination of these
specimens with relevant literatures, type specimens, comparison with herbarium
sheets deposited in ASSAM, CAL, MH, BM, K, E, these specimens were identified
as Hedychium longipedunculatum
A.R.K. Sastry & D.M. Verma (Zingiberaceae)
and Mazus dentatus
Wall. ex Benth. (Scrophulariaceae). The relevant literatures (Balakrishnan
1981–1983; Haridasan 1985–1987; Joseph 1982; Mao et
al. 2016) pertaining to the flora of Meghalaya reveals that, these species so
far not reported from the state and hence, reported here as additions to the
flora of Meghalaya with photographic illustration, citation, description along
with distribution and ecology for easy identification and future reference
(Image 1).
Materials and Methods
The materials for the present
study were collected from the forest areas of Mawsynram
during March 2017–May 2018. Detailed
morphological studies on flowering and fruiting timing, associated species,
ecology, habitat of occurrence, and elevation were recorded in field note
book. The detailed description was
prepared after proper diagnosis and examination of a wide range of specimens.
Observations were made with Magnus MIPS 5.0 mega pixel digital stereo
microscope. Standard method of
collection, preservation and maintenance of specimens in the herbarium was
followed (Jain & Rao 1977). The
herbarium specimens are deposited at Madras Herbarium (MH), Coimbatore, Tamil
Nadu.
Scrophulariaceae
Mazus dentatus Wall. ex Benth.,
Scroph. Ind.: 27. 1835; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 4:
260. 1884; T. Yamaz. in H. Hara, Fl. E. Himalaya:
288. 1966; Malick & Bhaumik
in Lakshminarasimhan et al., Fl. West Bengal 4: 118.
2019.
Erect, small, lithophytic,
acaulescent, non-stoloniferous, sparsely hairy herb with perennial root stock,
whole plant turns into black when dry.
Leaves crowded in a basal rosette; lamina broadly elliptic-oblong,
oblong-ovate or rarely obovate, 3–12×2–6 cm, acute, rounded or sub-cordate or
rarely oblique at base, dentate or sinuate at margins, obtuse or rounded at
apex, usually sparsely hairy on lower surface, rarely densely pubescent,
sparsely pubescent or sub-glabrous on upper surface;
lateral nerves 4–6 pairs, obscure; petioles 1.5–7.5 cm long, channeled above, sparsely hairy. Flowers large, in terminal racemes,
1–10-flowered, usually distant or sometimes apically fascicled; scape usually
solitary, rarely 2, erect or decumbent, slender, leafless, up to 12cm long,
densely hairy at base, sparsely hairy towards apex; pedicels 4–8 mm long,
pubescent. Bracts 2–4 mm long, setaceous. Calyx campanulate, 4–7×2–4 mm,
greenish or pinkish, pubescent hairy outside; teeth 5, ovate or triangular, 1.5–2.5×1.0–2.0
mm long, erect or sub-erect, shorter than tube, margins sometimes slightly
recurved, acute at apex; midrib prominent, thick, raised. Corolla whitish or purplish, 1.5–2.5 cm long,
2-lipped, exterior in bud, throat with 2 longitudinal yellowish batch,
prominently pubescent hairy; tube up to
1.2cm long, white at base, purplish towards apex; upper lip erect or reflexed,
2-lobed; lower lip much longer than upper, spreading, 3-lobed, mid-lobe oblong,
slightly longer than lateral lobes; lobes emarginate or sometimes shallowly
2-lobuled at apex. Stamens 4, didynamous, inserted on
corolla tube; anther cells connecting to each other, diverging at base,
apically connivent; filaments 0.7–1.5 cm long, glabrous. Ovary hairy or glabrous,
2-celled; style glabrous, up to 1.3 cm long; stigma
2-lamellate. Capsules obovoid, 2–3×1.5–-2 mm, obtuse at apex, loculicidal,
2-valved, included;seeds numerous, ovoid, minute.
Flowering & fruiting:
March–May.
Habitat & ecology: Very rare
in densely shaded tropical moist deciduous forests near waterfall and on
dripping rocks, between 1,000m and 1,800m in association with Argostemma khasianum
C.B. Clarke, Argostemma verticillatum
Wall., Begonia ovatifolia A. DC., Begonia
spp., Bulbophyllum spp., Dichocarpum
adiantifolium (Hook.f.
& Thomson) W.T. Wang & P.K. Hsiao., Eriocaulon
spp., and Malaxis sp..
Distribution: India (Arunachal
Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim, and West Bengal), Bhutan, and Nepal.
Specimen examined: Meghalaya,
East Khasi Hills District, Mawsynram, 25.3590N
& 91.6070E, 25.iii.2017, coll. M. Murugesan, 137302 (MH
Accession number 177984).
Zingiberaceae
Hedychium longipedunculatum A.R.K. Sastry & D.M. Verma, J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 65: 293–295. 1968; A.S.
Rao & D.M. Verma, Bull. Bot. Surv.
India 14(1–4): 130. 1972; S.C. Srivast. in S.K. Jain
& R.R. Rao, Threat. Pl. India: 236. 1983; S.K. Jain & V. Prakash., Rheedea 5(2): 161. 1995; Moaakum
& Santanu Dey, Pleione
7(1): 290–294. 2013.
Erect, usually terrestrial,
perennial, rhizomatous herbs, sometimes epiphytic or rarely lithophytic.
Rhizome creeping, 1.5–2.5 cm wide, creamy yellow or pale greenish-yellow
internally, light greyish-green externally, slightly aromatic. Leafy shoot 25–55 cm high, slanting with
erect inflorescence, glabrous. Leaves 4–8, alternate,
lower ones smaller, sessile, upper ones longer, prominently petioled;
petioles 0.2–1.7 cm long, sheathed; sheaths 1–6.5 cm long, lowest 2 or 3 sheaths without lamina; lamina broadly to
narrowly elliptic or elliptic-lanceolate or oblong-elliptic, 5–32×2–12 cm, dark
green on upper surface, light greenish-pinkish or pinkish-purple on lower
surface, glabrous, acute at base, undulate at margins, abruptly acuminate or
caudate-acuminate and twisted at apex; lateral nerves many, arched at margins;
ligule 1.5–2 cm long, bi-lobed at apex, glabrous,
translucent, papery, closely appressed to the stem. Inflorescence of spikes,
4–20 cm long, cylindrical, erect, many-flowered; peduncle up to 14cm long,
slightly curved upwards, glabrous, rachis hairy. Bracts 1-flowered, pinkish-red, triangular,
ca 1.3×0.8 cm, 9–11-nerved, as long as calyx, glabrous,
convolute at margins, acute or sometimes obtuse at apex, translucent,
membranous. Bracteoles pinkish or reddish, ovate, ca. 7.5×5 mm, membranous,
acute at apex, obscurely 3-nerved, completely enclose the flower. Flowers 3–3.3 cm long, creamy yellow, 8–18
flowers open at a time, ascending, fragrant. Calyx pale yellow or
creamy-yellow, tubular, up to 1.2 cm long, 7–9-nerved, densely villous,
membranous, tufted hairs at tip, unilaterally split at apex. Corolla tube creamy yellow with pale red,
erect, as long as calyx, villous inside, glabrous
outside; corolla lobes 3, ca. 1.8×0.7 cm, creamy yellow, pale red tinged
towards apex, linear-lanceolate or
lanceolate-oblanceolate, membranous, glabrous, acute
at apex, 3-nerved. Lateral staminodes 2,
creamy-yellow, spathulate, ca. 1.8×0.8 cm, petaloid, spreading on flower,
slightly reflexed back in upper half, prominently clawed towards base, slightly
thick; claw ca. 6×3 mm. Labellum deeply
bi-lobed; sinus ca. 1cm deep, lobes ovate or oblong or rarely orbicular, obtuse
or rounded at apex. Stamen solitary, ca.
2.2cm long, erect; anther ca. 7mm long, oblong, bright-yellow, 2-celled anther locules
divergent at base, attached with the filament at 2–3 mm above from base,
connective bright yellow; filament ca 1.5cm long ca. 2mm wide at base, yellow,
erect. Ovary ca. 3mm in diameter, subglobose, densely
villous, obscurely three angled; placentation axile;
style filiform, white, ca 2.8cm long glabrous, green
tinged towards stigma; stigma ca. 1mm broad, green, cup-shaped, slanting with a
depression at center, with hook-like ciliate hairy.
Capsule ca. 1.5cm diameter, sub-globose, glabrous or
hairy, 3-angled, 3-locular; fruit wall fleshy, reddish or orange internally,
completely splitted and reflexed back on dehiscence;
seeds black, ellipsoid, ca. 3.5×1.5 mm, smooth; aril red, lacerate, fleshy.
Flowering & fruiting:
May–August
Habitat & ecology: Very rare
in the margins of densely shaded tropical moist deciduous forests near streams
and on rocks, between 1,400m and 2,000m in association with Begonia
spp., Carex sp., Hedychium
sp., Wall., Malaxis sp., and Phyllanthus
sp.
Distribution: Arunachal Pradesh,
Meghalaya and Nagaland; endemic to northeastern
India.
Specimens examined: Meghalaya,
East Khasi Hills District, Mawsynram, 25.3590N
& 91.6070E, 09.vi.2017, coll. M. Murugesan, 137310 (MH Accession
number 177985).
Notes: This very rare species
previously known based on only few collections from Arunachal Pradesh and
Nagaland of northeastern states (Sastry & Verma 1968; Jain & Prakash 1995; Moaakum
& Dey 2013).
Therefore, the present collection from the study area shows its extended
distribution and also forms an addition to the flora Meghalaya.
References
Balakrishnan,
N.P. (1981–1983). Flora of Jowai, Vols. 1– 2. Botanical
Survey of India, Howrah, India.
Haridasan, K. & R.R. Rao (1985–1987). Forest Flora of Meghalaya,
Vols. 1– 2. Bishen Singh Mahandra
Pal Singh Publishers, Dehra Dun, India.
Jain, S.K.
& V. Prakash (1995). Zingiberaceae in India: Phytogeography and
Endemism. Rheedea 5: 154–169.
Joseph, J.
(1982). Flora of Nongpoh and its Vicinity. Botanical Survey of India,
Howrah, India.
Malick, K.C. & M. Bhaumik (2019). Scrophulariaceae, p. 118. In: Lakshminarasimhan, P., S.S. Dash, P. Singh & H.J. Chowdhry (eds.). Flora of West Bengal Vol. IV (Convolvulaceae-Ceratophyllaceae). Botanical Survey of
India, Kolkata.
Mao, A.A.,
B.K. Sinha, D. Verma & N. Sarma
(2016). Checklist
of flora of Meghalaya. Meghalaya Biodiversity Board, Shillong,
Meghalaya.
Moaakum & S. Dey
(2013). Rediscovery
of Hedychium longipedunculatum
A.R.K. Sastry & D.M. Verma (Zingiberaceae)
from Nagaland, India. Pleione 7(1): 290–294.
Sastry, A.R.K. & D.M. Verma (1968). Hedychium longipedunculatum, a new species of Zingiberaceae
from Subansiri district, North East Frontier Agency. Journal
of the Bombay Natural History Society 65: 293–295.
Corrigendum
Bhatt, M.R. (2021). A new record of an endangered and endemic rare Rein
Orchid Habenaria rariflora
from Gujarat, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(5): 18385–18389.
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6171.13.5.18385-18389
The author regrets that the title of the paper is
incorrect. The correct title reads as follows: “A new record of an endangered
and endemic orchid Habenaria rariflora A. Rich from Gujarat, India”.
The author would like to apologize for any
inconvenience caused.