Journal of Threatened
Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2025 | 17(12): 28135–28139
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9694.17.12.28135-28139
#9694 | Received 18 February 2025 | Final received 14 November 2025 |
Finally accepted 09 December 2025
The first distribution record of
semelparous plant Thottukurinji Strobilanthes
integrifolia (Dalzell) Kuntze
(family Acanthaceae) for Gujarat, India
Rasik Sojitra
1 , Snehal Gamit
2, Kamlesh Gadhvi
3, Suhas Vyas 4 & Sandip Gamit 5
1,2,4,5 Department of Life Sciences,
Bhakta Kavi Narsinh Mehta University, Khadiya-Junagadh, Gujarat 362263, India.
3 Gujarat Medicinal Plants Board,
Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382011, India.
1 sojitrark13@gmail.com, 2 gamitsnehal09@mail.com,
3 gadhvikj70@gmail.com, 4 vsuhas.13@gamil.com, 5 sandip.gamit25@gmail.com
(corresponding author)
Editor: V. Sampath Kumar,
Botanical Survey of India, Coimbatore, India. Date of publication: 26 December 2025 (online & print)
Citation: Sojitra, R., S. Gamit, K. Gadhvi, S. Vyas & S. Gamit (2025). The first
distribution record of semelparous plant Thottukurinji
Strobilanthes integrifolia
(Dalzell) Kuntze (family Acanthaceae)
for Gujarat, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 17(12): 28135–28139. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9694.17.12.28135-28139
Copyright: © Sojitra et al. 2025. 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: Authors thank Gujarat Forest Department for giving permission to conduct research work in Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary and Department of Life Sciences, Bhakta Kavi Narsinh Mehta University for providing lab facilities. First author acknowledges the SHODH Scholarship (Scheme of Developing High-Quality Research)
Education Department, Government of Gujarat, Gujarat.
The genus Strobilanthes
Blume consists of about 465 species, in India represented by 154 species
(Albertson & Venu 2024) and it is the
second-largest genus in the family Acanthaceae, which
is distributed mainly in the wet-non-deciduous forests of the Western Ghats and
Himalaya (Karthikeyan et al. 2010). Despite the level of diversity and the
ecological importance of the genus, as some species are locally abundant, even
subdominant in the shrub layer of hill forest, species delimitation remains
problematic, essentially because many species are poorly known and rarely
collected, mainly because of their ‘plietesial’
flowering pattern. it is distributed in southern & southeastern Asia and
Melanesia (Wood & Scotland 2009; Mabberley 2017;
Wood et al. 2022).
The Girnar Hills
situated between the parallels of latitude 21.5300 N and meridians of
longitude 70.5300 E (Figure
1; Image 1). From the 10 biogeographic zones of India, Girnar
Wildlife Sanctuary is classified as the semi-arid zone (Wainer
2015). During field work in the month of December 2024, the authors observed an
interesting species of Strobilanthes in both
flowering and fruiting stages at high elevations of Datar
Hills, Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary, and Dudhvada range, Tapi. Upon
further investigation of morphological characteristics, it is identified as Strobilanthes integrifolia
(Dalzell) Kuntze. It has not been recorded from the
Gujarat State (Patel 1971; Shah 1978; Albertson & Venu
2024). The species, S. integrifolia is
previously known only from peninsular India (Venu
2006). The detailed photographs are presented in Images 2, 3 and 4. The voucher
specimens (BKNMU412 & BKNMU413) are deposited at the Department of
Life Sciences, Bhakta Kavi Narsinh Mehta University,
Junagadh, Gujarat.
Taxonomic treatment
Strobilanthes integrifolia (Dalzell) Kuntze,
Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 499. 1891. Gamble, Fl. Madras:
1043. 1924; Venu, Strobilanthes
Penins. India: 117, f. 24, 24a. 2006 (as “integrifolius”); Karthik. & al., Fl. Pl. India
1: 51. 2009; J. Bhattacharya & al. in Flow. Pl. India Annotat.
Checkl. (Dicot.) 2: 309. 2020; W.D. Albertson & Venu in Fl. India 21: 664. 2024.
Synonyms: Endopogon
integrifolius Dalzell, Leptacanthus
alatus Wight., Leptacanthus
integrifolius (Dalzell) M.R.Almeida., Mackenziea
integrifolia (Dalzell) Bremek.,
Strobilanthes perfoliata
T.Anderson.
1–2 m tall shrub. Leaves
opposite, elliptic-lanceolate, 5–10 cm long and 2–5 cm wide, acuminate at apex,
tapering at base, margins entire, with winged petiole. Flowers occur in
terminal spikes, 5–12 cm long, flowers with strong pleasant fragrance, bilipped, 3–4 cm long and tubular at base, sessile. Rachis
tetragonal, viscous hairy; peduncles usually short. Bracts and bracteoles are
glandular. Calyx 0.9–1.0 cm long, divided nearly to base; segments linear,
subacute, one longer than the other four; corolla dark blue, glabrous outside,
hairy inside, 2.8–3 cm long, with five lobes; stamens in didynamous
(2 long and 2 short stamens), filaments of long stamens are hairy, filaments of
shorts stamens are glabrous. Pollens 63–71 µm polar axis and 37–50 µm
equatorial diameter. Capsules 0.5–1.0 cm, 2-seeded, compressed; seeds small,
ovoid.
Common name: Entire-Leaf
Coneflower
Etymology: Strobilanthes
come from Greek word ‘strobilos’ (pine cone) and ‘anthos’ (flower), referring to cone-like inflorescences. Integrifolia comes from Latin ‘integer’ (whole,
entire) and ‘folius’ (leaf), referring to the
undivided leaves.
Flowering & Fruiting:
December to March.
Note: Flowering once in every 7
years.
Specimens examined: India,
Gujarat, Junagadh District: Datar Hills (21.4980
N, 70.5010 E) and Girnar hills (21.5330
N, 70.5250 E), Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary;
929 m elevation, Rasik Sojitra
and Snehal Gamit,
BKNMU412 & BKNMU413.
Distribution: Goa, Gujarat
(present report), Karnataka, Kerala, and Maharashtra. Endemic to India.
Ecology: This small shrub, found
in dry deciduous forests, nearby moist and rocky habitat, in the forest
undergrowth. It is associated with Carissa spinarum L.
and Jasmine officinale L.
Threats: The species is
threatened by pilgrim activities at the Upla Datar, road-widening, and grazing pressure from cattle, leading
to habitat degradation and reduced regeneration.
Conservation status: Not assessed.
Key to the Strobilanthes
species in Gujarat
1a. Flowers bright rosy-purple
……………………………………………….....................…………………… S. urens
1b. Flowers pale blue to dark
blue ………………………………………............…...….........….....……………….
2
2a. Leaf margins entire
…………………………………………………………............……......................................... 3
2b. Leaf margins serrate
…………………………………….……………..……............……......................................
5
3a. Inflorescence terminal;
bracts imbricate; flowers sessile ……………..........……………..….
S. integrifolia
3b. Inflorescence axillary;
bracts not imbricate; flowers pedicellate ………….......……................…………… 4
4a. Leaves coriaceous, glabrous
…………………………………………..........……..............……………………. S. callosa
4b. Leaves membranous to
chartaceous, pubescent …………………...........…………………………. S. ixiocephalus
5a. Prostrate
herb……………………………………………................................…….......................................
S. hirta
5b. Erect herb
……...........................................................…....……...................................................
S. pavala
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References
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W.D. & P. Venu (2024). Tribe Ruellieae
Dumort. (Acanthaceae), pp.
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