Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 May 2024 | 16(5): 25276–25278

 

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

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8960.16.5.25276-25278

#8960 | Received 13 February 2024 | Final received 26 April 2024 | Finally accepted 02 May 2024

 

Strobilanthes khasyana (Acanthaceae): an addition to the flora of Nagaland, India

 

Pfüchüpe-ü Mero 1, Kazhuhrii Eshuo 2  & Neizo Puro 3

 

1,3 Department of Botany, Nagaland University, Hqs: Lumami, Zunheboto, Nagaland 798627, India.

1 Department of Botany, Phek Government College, Phek District, Nagaland 797108, India.

2 Department of Botany, D.M. College of Science, Dhanamanjuri University, Manipur 795001, India.

1 pfuchupeu7@gmail.com, 2 kazhuhrii@gmail.com (corresponding author), 3 neizopuro@gmail.com

 

 

Editor: K. Haridasan, Palakkad, Kerala, India.      Date of publication: 26 May 2024 (online & print)

 

Citation: Mero, P., K. Eshuo & N. Puro (2024). Strobilanthes khasyana (Acanthaceae): an addition to the flora of Nagaland, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 16(5): 25276–25278. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8960.16.5.25276-25278

  

Copyright: © Mero et al. 2024. 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 first author is grateful to the Department of Botany, Nagaland University, Hqs: Lumami, and the Principal of Phek Government College, Phek for allowing her to carry out the research work. The authors are grateful to Dr. Santanu Dey for his help during fieldwork and authentic identification of the specimen.

 

 

The genus Strobilanthes Blume belonging to Acanthaceae is represented by 454 species (POWO 2024) in the world mostly distributed in Asia tropical and sub-tropical hilly regions (Wood et al. 2021). In India, the taxon is represented by 150 species (Wood et al. 2021), 167 species (BSI 2024), and about 85 species reported from northeastern India mostly reported from the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura (Wood et al. 2021). In Nagaland state, about 20 species of Strobilanthes have been reported (Mao et al. 2017) and about 33 species were updated in the website (BSI 2024). Moaakum & Chaturvedi (2015) reported eight species of Strobilanthes from Zunheboto district, Kapfo (2018) had reported nine species of Strobilanthes from Pulie Badze Wildlife Sanctuary and Jotsoma Community Forest, Kohima. Mozhui (2014) and Sachu (2018) had reported one species each of Strobilanthes from Dimapur district and Japfu Mountain. Lea (2023) reported seven species of Strobilanthes from Phek district.

During the field exploration to Phek District of Nagaland, an interesting species of Strobilanthes was collected at Khulazu Basa Forest of Zanübu mountain range. On further critical examination of the species and consultation with the available literature (Kanjilal et al. 1939; Clarke 1884, 1885; Wood 2001; Venu 2006; Mao et al. 2017), the species was identified as Strobilanthes khasyana, which is hitherto unknown to angiospermic flora of Nagaland, Northeast India. The taxon has been reported to be an endemic to the states of Meghalaya, Sikkim, and West Bengal (BSI 2024). The occurrence of S. khasyana is an extension of its new distributional range to Nagaland state.

Plants were collected, dried, and pressed and herbarium sheet were prepared following the standard given by Jain & Rao (1976). Field photographs were taken using Canon EOS200D. Measurements of plant parts were based on the living plant specimens. Herbarium have been deposited in the Angiospermic Herbarium, Department of Botany, Nagaland University for future reference [NU-PM-260].

 

Taxonomic treatment

Strobilanthes khasyana (Nees) T. Anderson, J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 9: 471. 1867. Endopogon khasyanus Nees in A.P.de Candolle, Prodr. 11: 104. 1847;  Listrobanthes khasyana (Nees) Bremek. in Verh. Kon. Ned. Akad. Wetensch., Afd. Natuurk., Sect. 2, 41(1): 254. 1944. (Image 1 & 2)

Plant shrubs, 1–2 foot tall, stem quadrangular, green, with distinct nodes, glabrous to pubescent, hairy; petiolate, petiole 0.7–1 cm long; stipules on leaf axil. Leaves opposite, unequal in size, leaf lamina/blade, broadly elliptic to ovate long, 7–9 x 2.5–4 cm, apex acuminate, base cuneate, and tapering into petiole, margin serrate, pubescent, lateral veins 3–7 pairs. Inflorescence lateral spike, arising from the branch node of unequal clusters of spikes, spike 2–9.5 cm long, rachis pubescent; bracts are 5–8 mm long, bracteole 6 mm. corolla purple to white, 5–7 mm long, basal corolla tube white, 1–1.3 cm long; funnel shaped, sepals 5–6 mm long, stamens 2, strongly exerted.

Ecology: The plants were found growing in moist shaded area along with other herbs like Pilea sp., Stobilanthes sp., Elatostema sp., and Macropanax sp.

Distribution: India (Meghalaya, Sikkim, West Bengal, Nagaland – present report)

Specimen examined: India: Nagaland: Phek District, Zanübu mountain range, Khulazu Basa Forest, 25.392°N & 94.170°E; 1,600–1,800 m, NU-PM-260 (Image 2).

 

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References

 

BSI (2024). Strobilanthes. https://efloraIndia.gov.in. Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata. Accessed on 15 January 2024.

Clarke, C.B. (1884). On the Plants of Kohima and Muneypore. Journal of the Linnean Society London, 107 pp.

Clarke, C.B. (1885). Acanthaceae, pp. 387–558. In: Hooker J.D. (ed.). Flora of British India. Vol. 4. Reeve & Co., London, 780 pp.

Jain, S.K. & R.R. Rao (1976). A Handbook of Field and Herbarium Methods. Today & Tomorrow’s Printers and Publishers, New Delhi, 158 pp.

Kapfo, W. (2018). A comparative study on plant diversity and phytosociology of PulieBadze Wild Life Sanctuary and Jotsoma Community Forest, Kohima District, Nagaland. Ph.D. Thesis. Nagaland University, Hqs: Lumami, Zunheboto, Nagaland, 231 pp.

Kanjilal, U.N., A. Das, P.C. Kanjilal & P.C. De (1939).  Flora of Assam. Volume 3. (Caprifoliaceae -Plantaginaceae). Government of Assam, Shillong, 578 pp.

Lea, N. (2023). Flora of Phek District, Nagaland. Ph. D. Thesis. Nagaland University, Hqs: Lumami, Zunheboto, Nagaland, 704 pp.

Mao, A.A., N. Odyuo, D. Verma & P. Singh (2017). Check list of Flora of Nagaland. Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, 196 pp.

Moaakum & S.K. Chaturvedi (2015). A checklist of angiospermic flora of Zunheboto district of Nagaland, India. Pleione 9(1): 82–94.

Mozhui, R. (2014). Studies of floristic diversity of Dimapur District, Nagaland. Ph.D. Thesis. Nagaland University, Hqs: Lumami, Zunheboto, Nagaland, xiii+35+429pp.

POWO (2024). Plants of the world Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet; http://www.plantsoftheworlsonline.org/  (accessed on 15 January 2024).

Sachu, K. (2018). Assessment and mapping of plant diversity of Japfu Mountain ecosystem, Nagaland. PhD Thesis. Nagaland University, Hqs: Lumami, Zunheboto, Nagaland, 190 pp.

Venu, P. (2006). Strobilanthes Blume (Acanthaceae) in Peninsular India. Botanical Survey of India. Kolkata, 216 pp.

Wood, J.R.I. (2001). Family 175. Acanthaceae, pp. 1243–1293. In: Springate, L.S. (ed.). Flora of Bhutan, Including a Record of Plants from Sikkim and Darjeeling, Volume 2(3). Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh and Royal Government of Bhutan.

Wood, J.R.I., D. Borah & M. Taram (2021). The rediscovery of Strobilanthes tubiflos (Acanthaceae) in north east India. Kew Bulletin 76: 333–338. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-021-09935-6