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Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 101 (2), May-Aug 2004 291-293 BRACHIARIA MARSELINI SP. NOV. A NEW SPECIES OF POACEAE FROM MAHARASHTRA 1 NitinD.Gawade andB.G. Gavade2 'Accepted November 2001 "Blatter Herbarium, St. Xavier’s College, Mahapalika Road, Mumbai 400 001, Maharashtra, India. Email: [email protected] GenusBrachiaria(Trin.)Griseb. (Poaceae)consistsofabout90speciesdistributedinwarmregions,generallyin Africa and Asia, with the exception ofone European species. In India, thereareabout20 speciesand 7 infraspecifictaxa,of which 7 species are represented in Maharashtra. The authors have collected an undescribed species from Malvan in SindhudurgDistrict, Maharashtra,belongingtogenusBrachiariaanddescribedherein Keywords: Brachiaria, Panicoidae, Poaceae, Malvan, Maharashtra,Sindhudurg Duringa floristic surveyonfloweringplantsofMalvan junctionofthe petiole, telescopic. Lamina slightly curvedat taluka, Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra, in September thebasetowardsoneside; mid-veinofthelaminaprominent, 2000, we came across a patch of interesting grass under lateral veins interspersed with 4 stronger parallel veins, the shade ofa tree, on the bank ofa stream. A few plants runningparallelfromthebasetotheapex,baseofthe lamina were collected from the area, processed and preserved in rounded,oneportionofthe laminaslightlyoverlappingatthe the Blatter Herbarium and later assigned to the genus basewiththeother. Petiolehollow.Hairspresentatthejunction Brachiaria Griseb. Comparison with material deposited at ofthe lamina, and petioles oftwo types, ofwhich one type BlatterHerbarium(BLAT)and literatureattheBLATlibrary occurs in clusters and the other spreads on the edges ofthe (Almeida 1990; Blatter and McCann 1935; Bor 1960; petiole. Mid-vem oflamina very prominent, continues with Cooke 1903-1908; Dalgado 1898; Hooker 1872-1897; mid-vein ofpetiole on the lower surface. Ligule U-shaped, Kulkami 1988; Karthikeyanelal. 1989)confirmed itasanew situatedatthejunctionofthelaminaandthepetiole, whereit species of the genus Brachiaria Griseb., Family Poaceae, isslightlygroovedandhairy,hairsbrown,linear,unicellular, and was named Brachiaria marselini sp. nov. The new slightly curved at the apex. Inflorescence terminal panicle, species is very closely allied to Brachiaria ramosa (Linn.) about 10 cm long, with 4-5 branches, holding distantly Stapf. in external morphology, but differs in the following arranged spikelets on a green, slender, striate ribbed rachis characters: somewhat grooved in the middle, arising from the axil ofa Speciessimilis Brachiariaramosibusdifferettamen leaf. Spikeletsinpairs,onestalkedandtheotheralmostsessile mm Habitusannualisgracilis.Axisinflorescentia2-4ramus. tothenakedeye, 8 long;outerbracts2,small,ensheathing Superus glumae planus. the flowering glume, forms a V shape at the base. Lower mm Holotype: N.D. Gawade 1442 - Masure - Malvan, involucral glume 4 long, more or less equal in length of Sindhudurg,27.ix.2000 (BLAT) the flowering glume, ovate, acuminate, 3-nerved with a Isotype: N.D. Gawade 1445 - Masure - Malvan, prominentmid-nerve. Upper involucral glume4.5 mm long, mm Sindhudurg,27.ix.2000 (BLAT) 6-nerved. lightgreen,membranous. Lowerfloralglume4 A detailed description ofthe plant, along with floral long,5-nerved,acuminate; upperfloralglume3-nerved,4mm peculiarities, is provided inthetext. long, acuminate; palea of upper floral glume ovate, acute, A prostrate annual runner, 20-30 cm tall, rooting at 3.5mmlong. nodes; roots2-3,mostlyarisingfromthebasalnode, slender, Male spikelet with 3 stamens, filament white, slender; thin, narrow, 1.5-6 cm long, giving out lateral roots at some anthers dark yellow, divaricate at both ends. Pollen grains distance. Stem slender, covered by sheathing petiole; rounded, 2-porate,exmesmooth, intinepinkish; lodiculeone, grooved, striate, hairy on the ventral surface; hairs short, oval-shaped fleshy, situated at the base ofthe lemma. Inner brown, erect, closely arranged on the edges of the stem. floretbisexual,consistingof3 stamens; antherslong, golden Internodes 3-3.2 cm long, ensheathed by petiole. Leaves yellowwhenmature,divaricateatbothends, filamentsslender, linear-lanceolate, up to 7 cm, 0.5-0.6cm long, excludingthe white. Gynaecnim with superior, white, ovate ovary; style petiole. Petiole 2-2.1 cmlong, striate,brownish-hairyon the 2-partite from the base; stigma 2, plumose, free. Caryopsis margins, slightlyconstrictedatthejointwiththe lamina;hairs globose with shortacute apex, testa ofcaryopsis 3-4 veined, longerthan thehairsofthestem, arising inclustersbelowthe ovule anatropous, prominent, fleshy. NEW DESCRIPTIONS 292 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 101 (2), May-Aug 2004 NEW DESCRIPTIONS Table 1: Differences between Brachiaria marselini sp. nov and B ramosa (Linn.) Stapf Brachiaria marselini sp. nov. Brachiaria ramosa (Linn.) Stapf. 1 Slender annual. 1. Stoutannual 2 Internodes 2-2.2 cm long, nodes covered by sheathing 2. Internodes 8-10 cm long, distinctly ribbed; constricted narrowly, leaf base, which is hairy all over the edges. Hairs short, short, white, wooly hairs all around Sheathing leaf base slightly erect, standing in the form oftoothbrushes, many at the auricled, hairy, hairsoftwo types, long and stiffhairs atthe base juncture of the node. on both sides and short hairs in the middle. 3. Leaves linear-sagittate, terminating in a long acuminate 3. Leaves linear; leaf margins wavy, undulate, thick, with stiff hairs apex. Lamina curved at base, hairy on one side, hairs on ventral surface. brown. 4 Midveinthick, prominent, lateral veinsfaint, lamina 4. Veins parallel, of two types, 4-5 stronger veins alternating with punctate all over. Margin with prominent spicules slightly thinner veins, lamina hairy; spicules inconspicuous. curved upwards (visible under microscope). 5. Panicle terminal with 2-4 branches. 5. Panicle terminal with 8-10 branches 6. Spikelets and rachis not hairy. 6. Spikelets with 2-3 erect hairs at apex of short stalk. 7. Lower involucral glume more or less equal in length to 7. Lower involucral glume 1/2 as long as lower floral glume the lower floral glume. 8. Upper involucral glume with plain surface 8. Upper involucral glume cuspidate 9. Upperfloralglume plain 9. Upperfloral glume scrobiculate. 10 Anthers divaricate at both ends 10. Anthers linear, straight. Brachiaria marselini sp. nov. is illustrated here contribution to the field of Plant Taxonomy, especially (Fig. 1) to clearly show thepeculiar features ofthe species. of Maharashtra, western India and his ever-willing help Holotype: N.D. Gawade 1442-Masure-Malvan,Dist. to anybody who approaches him for identification of Sindhudurg,27.ix.2000(BLAT) plants. Isotype: N.D. Gawade 1445 - Masure - Malvan, Dist. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Sindhudurg,27.ix.2000(BLAT) The material has been deposited at the Blatter Herbarium,St.Xavier’sCollege,Mumbai. The authors are extremely grateful to Dr. (Mrs.) S.M. Etymology: This species is named after Prof. (Dr.) Almeida, Director,BlatterHerbarium, forguidanceandhelp Marselin R. Almeida D.Sc., as a mark of respect for his rendered in the preparation ofthis article. REFERENCES AlmeidaJ,odSh.pMu.r.(19P9p0.):11F4lo-r1a15o.fSavantwadi.Vol II.ScientificPublishers, Hooker,LiJs.bDo.n(1P8p72-11-829177).: FloraofBritish India Vol. VII Thacker& Blatter, E & C McCann (1935): The Bombay Grasses. Imperial Co., London Pp. 28-37. Institute ofAgronomy, Delhi Pp. 133-144. Karthikeyan, S., S.K. Jain, M.P. Nair & M. Sanjappa (1989): A Bor,N.L.(1960):GrassesofBurma,Ceylon,India&Pakistan.Oxford CatalogueofspeciesaddedtoCooke’sfloraofthePresidencyof University Press. Pp. 281-285. Bombayduring 1908-1978. Rec. Bot. Surv. hid. Vol 21,No. 2. Cooke,T.(1903-1908): FloraofBombayPresidency.Vol.III. Botanical Pp. 190-191. Survey ofIndia. Calcutta, 1958. Pp. 448-456. Kulkarni,B.G.(1988):FloraofSindhudurg. BotanicalSurveyofIndia, Dalgado.D.G.(1898): FloradeGoaESavantwadi GovernmentPress, Calcutta Pp 1-605. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 101 (2), May-Aug 2004 293