Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2021 | 13(14): 20288–20291
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7376.13.14.20288-20291
#7376 | Received 29 April 2021 | Final
received 08 December 2021 | Finally accepted 11 December 2021
Two additions to the flora of
Kerala, India
P. Murugan
1, Basil Paul 2 & M. Sulaiman
3
1–3 Botanical Survey of India,
Southern Regional Centre, TNAU campus,Coimbatore,
Tamil Nadu 641003, India.
1 murulax@gmail.com (corresponding
author), 2 basilpaul35@gmail.com, 3 sulai.anbu@gmail.com
Editor: Anonymity
requested. Date of publication:
26 December 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Murugan,
P., B. Paul & M. Sulaiman (2021). Two additions to the flora of
Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(14): 20288–20291. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7376.13.14.20288-20291
Copyright: © Murugan
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: Ministry of Environment, Forest
& Climate Change, New Delhi.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: Authors are thankful to Dr. A.A. Mao, director, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata,
for constant support and Dr. M.U. Sharief,
scientist-e & head of office, Southern Regional Centre, Coimbatore for
facilities and also Dr. C. Murugan,
scientist-e, BSI, SRC, Coimbatore for the guidance and valuable comments. We
extend our thanks to the Forest Department of Kerala, India for permission and
necessary help during the field study and also grateful to the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Govt. India, New Delhi, for the
financial support under Flora of India project.
Agasthyamalai, a compact block of hill range on the southern most end of the Western Ghats falls within the
Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state. It lies between 8.500–8.733N
latitude and 77.083– 77.300E longitude and spreads over a geographical area of
c. 200 km2. It descends steeply westwardly
from the highest peak of Agasthyarkoodam with an
altitude of 1,868 m in the east, to 300–400 m high hilly forest areas of
Thiruvananthapuram district in the west, Tirunelveli district in the east,
Kanyakumari district in south. The Agasthyamalai
harbours more than 1,100 species of flowering plants which includes c. 320
species (28%) are found to be endemic to India. Of these, 46 species are
reported and restricted to Agasthyamalai regions of
Kerala state (Mohanan & Sivadasan
2002).
In a recent
botanical exploration in Agasthyamalai,
Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala, the authors collected two specimens
belongs to the genera Acilepis D.Don and Psychotria L.,
respectively. After critical study with relevant literatures and protologue (Chelladurai & Gopalan 2001; Murugan
& Gopalan 2007), these were identified as Acilepis
pothigaiana (Chellad.
& Gopalan) Kottaim. and Psychotria
henryana Murugan &
Gopalan which are found in the eastern slopes of Agasthiamalai,
Tamil Nadu state. On perusal of literature (Mohanan
& Henry 1994; Mohanan & Sivadasan
2002; Sasidharan 2004, 2013; Nayar
et al. 2006, 2014) revealed that these two species have so far not been
reported from Kerala state, and hence they constitute new distribution records
for state. Its short description along with nomenclature notes, distribution,
image, phenology is provided for the further collection and identification in
the field.
Asteraceae
Acilepis pothigaiana (Chellad. & Gopalan) Kottaim.
(Image 1)
Telopea 18: 376. 2015. Vernonia pothigaiana
Chellad. & Gopalan in J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 25:
271. 2001; Singh et al. End. Vasc. Pl. India:
115. 2015.
Type:
India, Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli District: Pothigaimalai
peak (Agasthiamalai), ±1868 m, 06.ii.1989, R. Gopalan
88741 (Holo: CAL image!; Iso:
MH!).
Large herbs
to shrubs, up to 1.2 m high; branchlets grooved or 6–10 ribbed, young parts
woolly white powdery tomentose. Leaves simple,
spirally alternate, elliptic-lanceolate or lanceolate, 3–10 × 1.5–3 cm, glabrous above, woolly white tomentum beneath, attenuate at
base, margins distantly glandular serrate and revolute, acute-acuminate with
mucronate at apex; lateral nerves 8–10 pairs; petioles up to 2 cm long, flat
above, rounded below. Inflorescence terminal or axillary, lax, panicled cymes up to 12 cm long; peduncles up to 6 cm long,
ribbed; capitula, 1–1.5 long; Phyllaris 20–25 in 4–5 seriate; outermost 1-seriate 1–4, up to 1 mm long,
triangular, margins ciliate, apex at mucronate; second seriate
5–11, up to 2.5 mm long, ovate, ciliate along margins; third seriate 12–16, up to 3 mm long, oblong or oblong to ovate,
ciliate at margins; fourth seriate 17–19, up to 4 mm
long, oblong-ovate, obtuse and apiculate at apex, 3-ribbed; fifth seriate 20–21, up to 4.5 mm long, concave, obtuse and
apiculate at apex, tri-nerved; innermost seriate
22–25, 4–5 mm long, oblanceolate or spathulate, hyaline, obtuse and apiculate
at apex, tri-nerved; pedicels 2–8 mm long, ribbed. Disc florets bisexual,
homogamous. Corolla 8–10 mm long, infundibuliformis;
lobes 5, 4–5 mm long, oblong-laceolate or
linear-lanceolate, hyaline, margins at entire with thick layer, apex at acute.
Stamens 5, syngenesious; filaments alternate to the
corolla lobes, 0.5–1 mm long; anthers 2–3 mm long, oblong-linear, tailed at
base, acute at apex. Ovary oblong-obovate, ca 2 mm long, 8–10 ribbed; style 6–8
mm long, filiform; stigma 2–3 mm long, arms, feathery or hairy. Achene
oblong-obovate, 2–3 mm long, 8–10 ribbed, brown; pappus up to 7 mm long,
plumose trichomes, biseriate, barbellate. Ray florets 0
Flowering
& Fruiting: January–April
Distribution:
India (Tamil Nadu & Kerala), endemic.
Specimens
examined: 145004 (MH, Image 2), 25.iii.2021, Agasthyarkoodam,
slope of first rope base, Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala, India,
8.61808333 N 77.24702778 E, ± 1,750 m, coll. P. Murugan
Biotic
association: Acilepis pothigaiana
was found growing along with other species such as Impatiens agastyamalayensis (Bhaskar) A.Joe,
Bhaskar & M.Sabu, Impatiens henslowiana Arn., Symplocos wynadense
(Kuntze) Noot., Senecio ludens C.B.Clarke, Hedyotis travancorica Bedd., Nostolachma crassifolia
(Gamble) Deb & Lahiri, and Tarenna
flava Alston
Note: Chelladurai & Gopalan (2001) described this species
based on their collections (1977 & 1989) from the Pothigaimalai,
Tirunelveli hills, Tamil Nadu. Later Kottaimuthu
(2015) transferred Vernonia pothigaiana Chellad. & Gopalan into the genus Acilepis
D.Don. The present collection turns to be the
relocation of the plant after type and a new addition to the flora of Kerala.
Rubiaceae
Psychotria henryana Murugan & Gopalan
(Image 3)
Nordic J.
Bot. 24: 415. 2007; Singh et al. End. Vasc. Pl. India:
237. 2015.
Type:
India, Tamil Nadu, Kanyakumari District: Muthukuzhi,
±1400 m, 19.i.1978, A.N. Henry 52454 (Holo: CAL
image!; Iso: MH!).
Evergreen,
large shrubs, up to 3 m high; branchlets terete, smooth, young parts stem green
with white dotted. Leaves simple, opposite-decussate, oblanceolate, 8–20 × 4–8
cm, membranous, cuneate at base, margins at entire, acute to acuminate at apex;
lateral nerves 8–15 pairs, reticulated; petioles up to 4 cm long, terete to
towards apex flat, scare; stipules up to 3 cm long, oblong-lanceolate, flat
with longitudinal channels, caudate and twisted towards apex when young and
become obtuse at apex, folded longitudinally and caducous when mature. Inflorescence terminal, loosely corymbose
cymes, up to 6 cm long; branches opposite; peduncles 0.5–1 cm long, stout,
terete; pedicels up to 4 mm long, terete; bracts caducous. Flowers 5–10 mm
across, green, pentamerous, actinomorphic. Calyx tube obconical, 2–3 mm in
diam.; lobes 5, obscurely toothed. Corolla valvate, 8–10 mm in diam., shortly
tubed, densely white-villous at throat; lobes 5, oblong, 4–6 mm long, obtuse to
acute at apex. Stamens 5, slightly exerted; filaments 0.5–1.5 mm long,
filiform; anthers c. 2 mm long, oblong, dorsifixed, dithecous. Ovary inferior, subglobose,
2-locular; ovule 1 in each locule, placentation
basal; style subulate, 4–6 mm long, towards to apex thickened; stigma bi-lobed,
tongue shaped. Fruits ellipsoid-oblong, 1–1.5 cm long, dark brown or dark
purple and yellow dotted.
Flowering
and Fruiting: December–March
Specimens
examined: 145011 (MH, Image 4), 25.iii.2021, Pongala
Para, slope of way to Agasthyarkoodam peak,
Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala, India, 8.62119444 N 77.24852778 E,
1650–1750 m, coll. P. Murugan.
Distribution:
India (Kerala and Tamil Nadu States), endemic.
Biotic
association: Psychotria henryana
was found growing along with other species such as Canthiumera
neilgherrensis (Wight) K.M.Wong,
Casearia thwaitesii Briq., Hedyotis travancorica Bedd., Nostolachma crassifolia
(Gamble) Deb & Lahiri, Phlogacanthus
grandis Bedd, Pittosporum
neelgherrense Wight & Arn.
and Symplocos wynadense
(Kuntze) Noot.
Note: Psychotria henryana
closely resembles Psychotria anamalayana Bedd., but can
be distinguished from it by its stipules 2, flat with longitudinal channels,
when young towards apex twisted and when mature obtuse (vs stipules 2–3, rarely
bilobed, densely villous at base); leaves opposite-decussate, cuneate at base
(vs leaves whorled, attenuate at base); inflorescence terminal, opposite, terete
(vs inflorescence terminal or axillary, whorled, trigonous);
flowers green (vs flowers white); calyx funnel, minutely teethed (vs calyx
obconic, 5-toothed); disc discoid (vs subglobose);
stigma shaped tongue (vs stigma ovate) and fruits when mature without calyx
crowned with persistent (vs fruits when mature with calyx crowned with
persistent).
References
Chelladurai, V. &
R. Gopalan (2001). A new Vernonia Schreb.
(Asteraceae) from Southern India. Journal Economic & Taxonomy Botany
25: 271–273.
Murugan, C. &
R. Gopalan (2007). Psychotria
henryana (Rubiaceae), a
new species from the Southern Western Ghats, India. Nordic Journal Botany
24: 415–418.
Kottaimuthu, R.
(2015). Three new combinations in Acilepis D.Don (Asteraceae) from India. Telopea
18: 375–377.
Mohanan, N. &
A.N. Henry (1994). Flora of Thiruvananthapuram District,
Kerala. Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, 621 pp.
Mohanan, N. &
M. Sivadasan (2002). Flora
of Agasthyamala. Bishen
Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun, 889 pp.
Nayar, T.S., R.A.
Beegam & M. Sibi
(2014). Flowering Plants of the Western Ghats India. Tropical Botanic
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Nayar, T.S.,
R.A. Beegam, N. Mohanan
& G. Rajkumar (2006). Flowering
Plants of Kerala-A Handbook. Tropical Botanic Garden and Research
Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 1059 pp.
Sasidharan, N.
(2004). Biodiversity Documentation for Kerala. Part 6. Flowering Plants.
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pp.
Sasidharan, N.
(2013). Flowering plants of Kerala: CD–ROM ver 2.0. Peechi: Kerala Forest Research Institute.