Pleione 7(1): 286 - 289. 2013. ISSN: 0973-9467 © East Himalayan Society for Spermatophyte

Ludwigia peruviana (Linnaeus) H. Hara []: a new record for West Bengal, India

Anurag Chowdhury, Monoranjan Chowdhury1, Dibakar Choudhury and A. P. Das Taxonomy & Environmental Biology Lab., University of North Bengal, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India E-mails: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] 1Corresponding author [Received revised 25.05.2013; Accepted 01.06.2013]

Abstract peruviana (Linnaeus) H. Hara [Onagraceae] is a robust bushy wetland plant that has been collected first time from Mahananda river bed at Naukaghat near Siliguri and from the campus of North Bengal University of the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. The taxonomic description, photograph, distribution and ecology of the species are provided for its easy identification.

Key words: Ludwigia peruviana, New record, Darjeeling, West Bengal

INTRODUCTION Ludwigia Linneaus (Onagraceae) is one important cosmopolitan wetland genus comprising of around 82 species and are mostly concentrated in the tropical regions of America (Mabberley 2005). According to APG III system Onagraceae is placed in the order of clade Malvids under the core class Eurosids II of Rosides of Core (Chase & Reveal, 2009). Ludwigia Linnaeus and Jussiaea Linnaeus have been treated as distinct genera in several Indian Floras (Clarke 1879; Cooke 1901; Fischer 1935). Baillon (1877) has merged three genera namely, Ludwigia Linnaeus, Jussiaea Linnaeus and Isnardia Linnaeus those were published simultaneously and selected the name Ludwigia for the combined genus. There are seven species and one infraspecific taxon of Ludwigia Linnaeus reported so far from the Indian territory. Barua (2010) nicely presented seven species in Indian flora providing identification key, diagrams and their distribution in the country. During the botanical explorations of various water bodies of Terai and Duars region of North Bengal, few specimens of an interesting species of Ludwigia peruviana (Linnaeus) H. Hara were first collected by the authors from the bushy emerged area of Mahananda river bed in the Naukaghat area of Siliguri[latitude 26°41’10.25" N & longitude 88°24’29.26"E] and one specimen from the ditches within the campus of the University of North Bengal [latitude 26°42’80" N & longitude 88°21’19.42"E] in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal during the months of April – May, 2011 and 2013, respectively. These collections represent the first set of specimens of this species collected from the state of West Bengal and the local floras did not record it earlier from the state territory (Prain 1903; Guhabakshi 1984). After critical investigations with the help of various relevant literatures including Cook (1901), Anurag Chowdhury et al 287 Hara (1953), Cook (1996), and Borua (2010); matching with the pre-identified specimens at CAL, and with the digital herbarium sheets from K [www.apps.kew.org 2013] and FLAS [www.flmnh.ufl.edu 2013] and expert consultation, the identification of the specimen as Ludwigia peruviana (Linnaeus) H. Hara was confirmed. The taxon grows in wetlands of sub-Himalayan region of Darjeeling district in association with Alternanthera philoxeroides (C. Martius) Grisebach, Alternanthera sessilis (Linnaeus) R. Brown ex DC, Ludwigia adscendens (Linnaeus) H. Hara, Persicaria hydropiper (Linnaeus) Spach, Marsilea minuta Linnaeus, Lippia javanica (Burman f. ) Sprengel, Pistia stratiotes Linnaeus, Lindernia antipoda (Linnaeus) Alston, Ipomoea aquatica Forsskal, Cyperus cyperoides Kuntze and Cynodon dactylon (Linnaeus) Persoon. The taxonomic description, photograph, distribution and ecology are provided below for its easy recognition.

Ludwigia peruviana (Linnaeus) H. Hara in J. Jap. Bot. 28: 293. 1953; Raven in Reinwardtia 6: 345. 1963; Paul in Bull. Bot. Surv. India 40: 19. 1998. C.D.K. Cook, Aqua. & Wetl. Pl. India 278. 1996. Jussiaea peruviana Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 388. 1753. Jussiaea speciosa Ridley in J. Bot. (Lond.) 59: 259. 1921; Fischer in Gamble, Fl. Madras 3: 1298. 1957. Plate - I Perennial, marshland shrubs, upto 4 m high, villous throughout. Stem cylindric, hollow, much branched. Thread like pneumatophores arises from submerged roots. Lamina lanceolate or broadly ovate – lanceolate, entire, acute or sub – acuminate, base narrowly cuneate, coriaceous, lateral nerves 12 – 22 on either side of midrib; petioles 5.6 – 6.1 cm long, 0.7 – 1.1 cm wide. Flowers solitary in upper leaf axils, showy, pedicels quadrangular, 2.6 – 3.5 cm long, villous; bracteoles 2, 1.2 mm – 1.5 mm long, reduced or subulate, borne at sepal base. Sepals 4 (or 5), lanceolate to subulate or deltoid – acuminate, 1.4 – 2.2 x 0.5 – 1 cm, margin irregularly serrulate, fleshy, villous outside, glabrous inside, 9 – nerved. Petals 4 (or 5), sub – orbicular, 1.6 – 2.5 x 1.5 – 2.6 cm, shortly clawed, shallowly emarginate, yellow with brownish nerves. Stamens 8 or 10, subequal, yellow, filaments 1.4 – 3.1 mm long, anthers 1.8 – 3.2 mm long, apparently basifixed by reduction; disc much elevated; nectaris depressed, U- or C-shaped, densely white hairy, surrounding the base of stamens. Ovary quadrangular, 9 – 11 mm long, pubescent, 4-loculed, ovules numerous in each locule; style 1 mm long, thick, stigma elongated-hemispherical to ellipsoid, longer than style, 3 mm across. Capsules sharply quadrangular, villous, 2.5 – 3.4 long, with 4 prominent deep brown ribs, villous, irregularly loculicidal. Seeds pluriseriate, free, ellipsoid, 0.60 x 0.90 x 0.37 mm, with a prominent nipple and transversely striped integument, brown, raphe 0.74 x 0.16 mm. Flowers & Fruits: Almost throughout the year Distribution: India (Nilgiri hills of South India, South Andaman, Assam, West Bengal), Indonesia (Java, Sumatra), Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, throughout America excluding southern USA (Arceo 1979). Native of New World. Specimens examined: INDIA, Assam, Karbi Anglong district, Lungcholiet, 24.10.1993, Barua 2313 (CAL); Diphu, 14.9.2006, Barua 4199 (ASSAM). Kerala, Panthenthode, 10.4.1978, Nair 56741 (CAL). Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore district, Siruvani, 3.1.1978, Nair 41480; Nilgiri district, Madgami, 27.9.1920, Fischer 4492; Mudumalai R. F., 1100 m, 17.11.1958, Sebastine 7334 (CAL). West Bengal, Mahanda river bed, Naukaghat, 22.05.2011, Anurag & A.P. Das 0738 (CAL). NBU campus, 07.04.2013 Monoranjan 4833 (NBU) Ecological Note: Aquatic or semi-aquatic in habit and grown along with river bed within paddy fields. 288 Ludwigia peruviana - a new record for West Bengal

A

B C

D

PLATE - I: Ludwigia peruviana (Linnaeus) H. Hara: Fig. A. Habit with young fruit; Fig. B. Foliage; Fig. C. Dense white hairs on stem and petiole; Fig. D. Young flower-bud Anurag Chowdhury et al 289 Acknowledgments Authors are thankful to Director of Botanical Survey of India and Additional director, Dr. P. Lakshminarashimhan of Central National Herbarium, for their all possible assistance.

LITERATURE CITED Arceo, L.M. 1979. Resource manual on lowland rice weeds in Southeast Asia. Searle (India) Limited, Bombay. Baillon, H.E. 1877. Historia Plantarum. Vol. 6. Barua, I.C. 2010. The Genus Ludwigia (Onagraceae) in India. Rheedea 20 (1): 59 – 70. Clarke, C.B. 1879. Onagraceae. In: Hooker, J. D. (Ed.), The Flora of British India. Vol. 2. L. Reev & Co., London. 582 – 590. Chase, M.W. & Reveal, J. 2009. A phylogenetic classiûcation of the land to accompany APG III. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161, 122–127. Cook, C.D.K. 1996. Aquatic and Wetland Plants of India. Oxford University Press. Pp. 385. Cook, T. 1901. Onagraceae. In: The Flora of the Presidency of Bombay. Vol. 1. Taylor & Francis. London. Pp. 548 – 552. Fischer, C.E.C. 1935. Addenda. In: Gamble, J.S. (Ed.), Flora of the Presidency of Madras. Adlard & Son Ltd., London. Guha Bakshi, D. N. 1984. Flora of Murshidabad District, West Bengal, India, Scientific Publisher, Jodhpur, India, Pp. 440. Hara, H. 1953. Ludwigia versus Jussiaea. J. Jap. Bot. 28 (10): 1 – 6. Mabberley, D.J. 2005. The Plant – Book: A Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants (Sec. ed.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Prain, D. 1903. Bengal Plants. 1 & 2 vols. M/s. West Newman & Co., London. http://www.apps.kew.org/herbcat/detailsQuery.do?imageId =227748&pageCode =1&presentPage =1&queryId= 1&sessionId=5704B7D1485F36A C034ECA177FCE9FBA &barcode= K000533294 [studied on 12.03.2013] http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/scripts/dbs/herbs_project/herbsproject/ herbs_pub_proc.asp?accno=107967&famsys=E&output_style=Report_type&trys=2 [studied on 12.03.2013]