Leucas sivadasaniana, a New Species of Lamiaceae (Leucas sect. Astrodon) from Peninsular India

2008·3 MB·English

by  P Sunojkumar

Leucas sivadasaniana, a New Species of Lamiaceae
(.Leucas sect. Astrodon) from Peninsular India
P. Sunojkumar
Department of Botany, University of Calicut, Kerala, 673 635, India, [email protected]
Abstract. The new species Leucas sivadasaniana Leaves opposite, decussate; petiole 1.5-2.5 cm, vil¬
Sunojkumar (Lamiaceae), collected from the Kuda- lous; lamina lanceolate. 7-13 X 2.5—4 cm, 2.5X
chadri Hills of Karnataka in Peninsular India, is longer than broad, coriaceous, acute, base broadly or
described and illustrated. It is related to L. beddomei narrowly cuneate, margin serrate with 20 to 23 teeth,
(Hooker f.) Sunojkumar & P. Mathew, L. eriostoma secondary veins 9 to 10, abaxial surface densely hispid,
Hooker f., and L. lamiifolia Desfontaines, from which hairs 2 mm, spreading, mainly on the veins, adaxial
the new species differs in having broadly cuneate surface villous, hairs 2 mm, glandular-punctate, mar¬
leaves, long and densely villous bracteoles, a gin ciliate. Inflorescence terminal, of 3 to 4 verticillas-
nonciliate calyx mouth, and triangular teeth. This ters, densely flowered, subglobose. 3-4 cm wide;
species is included in Leucas sect. Astrodon Bentham. bracteoles lanceolate, 1.3-1.5 X 0.2-0.25 cm, as long
Key words: India, IUCN Red List, Karnataka, as calyx, many, densely villous, divergent below the
inflorescence, not forming an involucre, apex acute,
margin outside densely villous; flowers 20 to 30 per
Worldwide, the genus Leucas R. Brown (Lamiaceae) vertieillaster, pedicels 1-2 mm. Calyx tubular, 1.3-
comprises about 100 species and is found in the 1.5 cm, base narrowed, widest at middle, throat slightly
tropical regions of Africa, Arabia, and Asia (Sebald, coi tn tc 1 t de fully tomentose, upper 1/2 outside
1980). In India, there are about 41 species—mostly ribbed at the veins, hispid, hairs 1-1.5 mm, inside
distributed in the south—of which 23 are endemic. upper 2/3 hispid with ca. 1 mm hairs, mouth straight,
Two additional endemic species from this area were cilia absent; teeth 10, reflexed, alternately long and
described recently by Sunojkumar and Mathew (2002) short, 2-3 mm, triangular, base 1-1.5 mm broad, tip
and Sunojkumar (2005). During collection for taxo¬ acute, outside long-tomentose, hairs ca. 1 mm, inside
nomic studies of all the hitherto described Indian short-pubescent; corolla white, 17-18 mm, tube
species, the author discovered a small population of 10-11 mm, included in the calyx tube, glabrous
Line utchaes Katu tdhaec hmaadrrgi inHs ilolsf ao fm Kouanrntaaitna keav, erSgoruetehn Ifnodreias.t oanuntsuidlaer, riinnsgi dcea .a 7 t umftm o ffr oflmes hthye schoorrotl lhaa birass ef;o rlmowinegr laipn
Trwehhlaiisct,eh d wi sht aedxnea s,cc roiismb epcdoa rnaefndird m wielidltuh s ttosr paetbecedi m ah eendresis . tainncdt tsyppeecsi eos,f w88e m-hm9iat mremg, imnsloap, ntreemg,a, ilddaicdtneolgrena clhal olavobierbe,s e ,s 4s mtc-r4aoa..nr 5g2g i lmnym mmcbi lebbiaarrrtoodeaa;ed dd;s tuaawptm piftiehrner a elld i peef innlcasda¬e.,
ments hairy at middle, upper stamen pair shorter
Leucas sivadasaniana Sunojkumar, sp. nov. TYPE: than the lower pair; anthers deep red, ca. 1.8 X
India. Karnataka: Udupi Dist., Kudachadri Hills, 0.57 mm; disc cup-shaped, ca. 1.5 mm tall, lobes
1200-1400 m, 12 Feb. 2003, P. Sunojkumar almost equal; ovary locules ca. 1,2 mm, rounded on
CU88126 (holotype, CALI; isotypes, K, MH, the upper side; style 15-16 mm, stigma bilobed, lower
MO). Figure 1. lobe ca. 0.7 mm, upper ca. 0.06 mm. Nutlets ca. 4 X
eriLosetuocmadatii beHdodookmeer i f(.H, oeot kLer fl.a) mS.uunfoolj.kiauem Dare s&fo Pn.t aMinaetsh eawr,e Lte. 2n amrromw eadt , mtoidpd lael,m doastr kr obulnadcekd, , shbirnoiandgl,y otbrilgoonngo, ubs asine
affinis, sed foliis basi late cuneatis, bracteolis triangularibus,
Distribution and ecology. Leucas sivadasaniana is
endemic to southern Western Ghat, from a population
Stout shrub, erect, 1-1.75 m tall, stem base 3- of less than 100 plants known from a single locality in
5 cm diam., ligneous with thick periderm, profusely the Kudachadri Hills of Udupi District in Karnataka.
branching; branches obtusely angular, grooved, long- The new species is found in the margins of mountain
tomentose to villous, hairs erect, silvery, 2—2.5 mm; evergreen forests at altitudes between 1200 and
internode 6-11 cm, tender stems densely villous.
doi: 10.3417/2006110 Novon 18: 247-250. Published on 22 May 2008.

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