IAWA Bulletin n.s., Vol. 13 (1), 1992: 17-20

REINVESTIGATION OF THE WOOD STRUCTURE OF TIlOTTEA Sll..IQUOSA (ARISTOLOCmACEAE)

by

R. Vijendra Rao, R. Dayal, B.L. Sharma and Luxmi Chauhan Botany Division (Wood Anatomy), Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun 248006, India

Summary An accurate deseription of the wood struc­ ever, eontrary to that in Gamble (1922). Fur­ ture of siliquosa is presented for the therrnore, the presenee of vestured pits in first time. Earlier deseriptions for this species vessels described by Purkayastha (1985) were were based on ineorreetly identified sampies. found to be artifaets when observed under Wood is diffuse-porous with distinet growth SEM. Beeause of these probable discrepan­ rings . Vessels are small , solitary, in radial cies, authentie wood sampies were obtained multiples and also in clusters, forming a dis­ and an accurate deseription of the wood tinet radial pattern. Perforations are simple, strueture of is given here intervessel pits small, alternate without ves­ for the first time. tures . Vaseular traehe ids are present. Axial parenehyma is diffuse and diffuse-in-aggre­ Material and Methods gates. Rays are very high and broad, hetero­ Authentie wood sampies were obtained geneous. Fibres thick-walled and non-septate. from the evergreen forests of the Silent valley Oil eells are absent. Projeet area, Idukki, Kerala, India [DDw Key words:Thotteasiliquosa, wood anat­ 8548 voucher KUH 324 and DDw 8549 omy . voucher KUH 387, herbarium specimens housed at Kakatiya University, Warangal and Introduction also ar MH (Madras Herbarium) eollected by Aristoloehiaeeae eonsists of 7 genera and Dr. V.S. Raju, Kakatiya University, Waran­ about 400 speeies of herbs, shrubs and twin­ gal] and also from the Forest Produets Lab­ ing lianas distributed in the tropics and warm oratory in Madison, Wiseonsin, U.S.A. temperate regions (Mabberley 1987). Apa­ MADw 40619 voucher Nooteboom 3084, in ma is now included in Thottea (Mabberley Leiden; MADw 40698 voucher Nooteboom 1987) and A. siliquosa Lam. is treated as T. 3130, from the Kandy and Kegalle distriets siliquosa (Lam.) Ding Hou (Ding Hou 1981). of Sri Lanka). All sampies were seetioned The is an undershrub of about 1 m height and maeerated using standard teehniques. and oceurs along the Western Ghats ofIndia Fifty fibres and vessels were measured from and also in Sri Lanka (Sivarajan eral. 1985). eaeh authentie sampie for determining their Thottea siliquosais supposed to have a vari­ lengths . Anatomical data given by Metealfe ety of medieinal uses, especially in eertain and Chalk (1950) and Purkayastha (1985) systems of tribai medicine (Chelladurai & and observed in the FHOw slide 638 were Apparananthan 1983). The only sources of collated for comparison. information on the wood strueture ofThottea are Metealfe and Chalk (1950) and Purkayas­ tha (1985). The bases of their deseriptions Observations are wood sampies supplied from India, Com­ The structure of 'Apama siliquosa Lam.' monwealth Forestry Institute, University of is given by Metcalfe and Chalk (1950) and Oxford (FHOw) slide 638 and DDw 5624, Purkayastha (1985) , and confirmed by orig­ Dehra Dun. Their deseriptions were, how- inal observation on slide 638 obtained from

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Figs. 1-7. Thottea siliquosa. - 1: MADw 40619, es showing general structure of the wood, x 10. - 2: MADw 40698, TI...S showing high broad rays, x 50. - 3: Gamble 15510, herbarium twig labelIed Bragantia wallichii, TLS showing high, multiseriate rays, x 30. - 4: MADw 40698, es showing vessels in distinct radial pattern, axial parenchyma, and broad rays, x 50. - 5: Gamble 15510, labelled Bragantia wallichii, es showing pore distribution, broad rays, x 50. - 6: DDw 8548, es, x 50. - 7: DDw 8548, RLS showing ray composition, x 50.

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FHOw, Oxford, and sampie DDw 5624, No. 3902, Devala, India; sampie damaged South Kanara, Karnataka, India, not backed and lost) is at variance with the observations by herbarium. made by the authors mentioned above. Up Growth rings delimited by thick-walled until now, the anatomical descrlption for this fibres. Vessels moderate1y small (50-100 genus is based on non-authentie, ineorreetly J.I.n1), solitary and in radial multiples of 2-6, identified wood specimens. Sinee Noote­ angular to oval, with gummy deposits. Inter­ boom's and V.S . Raju's colleetions are vessel pits small (3-7 um), alternate, with backed by herbarium, the correct wood struc­ coalescing apertures and also vestured. Pits ture for Thottea siliquosa (Lam.) Ding Hou to ray cells gash-like, scalariform. Perfora­ (syn. Apama siliquosa Lam.) should be as tions simple to occasionally scalariform. Pa­ per the descrlptions given from the eollee­ renchyma scanty paratracheal. Rays 2- or 3­ tions of Wisconsin and Dr. V.S. Raju . A seriate, heterogeneous type II B, 6-19 cells. few herbarium speeimens eollected from the Oil cells frequent among axial and ray paren­ same locality, Devala, India, by I.S. Gamble chyma. Fibres frequently septate with simple (in 1884), Bragantia wallichii (now Thottea) pits. Fibre length c. I mm. herbarium voueher No. 15510 and Sir Cham­ The structure of Thottea siliquosa (Lam.) pion (in 1927), Bragantia wallichii voueher Ding Hou (syn. Apama siliquosa Lam.) No. 43607 are available at the FR! herba­ (Source 4 authenticated sampies): Growth rium. The structure of juvenile wood (Figs. rings distinct to indistinct, delimited by inter­ 3, 5) from these herbarium specirnens mateh rupted lines of parenchyma. Wood diffuse­ with authentie materials indieating the eorrect porous . Vessels small (45-100 J.I.n1, mean 75 identity ofGamble's sampies. um), solitary or in tangential multiples or in The misidentified sampies mateh closely radial multiples of 2-5 or in clusters, form­ with Lauraceae, especially Actinodaphne, and ing a distinct radial or flame-like pattern, an­ what so far has been deseribed as the wood gular. Vascular tracheids associated with small structure of Apama siliquosa (­ vessels. Perforation exclusively simple. Inter­ eeae) may thus be based on this genus of the vessel pits small (4-6 um), alternate, non­ Lauraeeae. vestured. Pits to ray cells large and elon­ gated . Mean vessel memberlength 277-316 Acknowledgements um . Parenchyma abundant, diffuse, diffuse­ The authors are thankful to Dr. V.S. Raju in-aggregates, numerous, wavy uniseriate (Kakatiya University, Warangal, India) for lines connecting broad rays. Rays heterogen­ eolleeting and sending the authentie wood eous, multiseriate, broad rays more than 10 sampies. Thanks are also due to the Curators cells wide and more than 1 mm high. Rays of F.R.L., U.S .D.A., Wiseonsin and CFI, predominantly composed of high upright Oxford for supplying the authentie wood sam­ cells and a few square cells. Oll cells absent. pIes and the slide, respectively. Fibres thick-walled, non-septate with simple pits on tangential and radial walls. Mean fibre Refurences length 1.13 mm (Figs. 1,2,4, 6, 7). Chelladurai, V. & T. Apparananthan. 1983. Ethnobotany of Apama siliquosa Lam. (Kuravan Kulimooli Tamil) . Aneient Sei. Discussion of Life 3: 37-39. The present study showed that descriptions Gamble, I.S . 1922. A manual of Indian tim­ given by Metealfe and Chalk (1950) and Pur­ bers . Ed. 2. Sampson Low, Marston & kayastha (1985) and slide 638 from FHOw , Co., London. Oxford, match with eaeh other. The anatomi­ Hou, Ding. 1981. Florae Malesianae Praecur­ eal features like presenee of oil eells in paren­ sores LXII . On the genus Thottea Rottb . ehyma and rays and septate fibres are exeep­ (Aristolochiaeeae). Blumea 27: 301-332. tions to the other members of Aristolochiaeeae Mabberley, D.I. 1987. The plant-book, a (Metcalfeec Chalk 1950). Furthermore, the portable dietionary of the higher . description given by Gamble (1922) (sampie Cambridge University Press.

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Metcalfe, C.R. & L. Chalk. 1950. Anatomy Sivarajan, V.V., A. Babu & Indu Balachan­ of the Dicotyledons. Clarendon Press, dran. 1985. A new species of Thottea Oxford. Rottb. () with notes on Purkayastha, S.K. 1985. Indian Woods, Vol. the identity of Thonea siliquosa (Lam.) V. Contr. of Publ., Delhi. Ding Hou. Indian 1. FOT. 8: 265-268.

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