Some New Distributional Reports to Arunachal Pradesh, North East India
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Bioscience Discovery, 8(3): 495-501, July - 2017 © RUT Printer and Publisher Print & Online, Open Access, Research Journal Available on http://jbsd.in ISSN: 2229-3469 (Print); ISSN: 2231-024X (Online) Research Article Some new distributional reports to Arunachal Pradesh, North East India K. Jeyaprakash1* and S. Rathinavel2 1North Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine (Ministry of AYUSH, Govt. of India), Pasighat-791102, East Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh 2Department of Botany, Saraswathi Narayanan College (Autonomous), Perungudi, Madurai-625 022, Tamil Nadu, India *[email protected] Article Info Abstract Received: 06-06-2017, Phyllanthus fraternus G.L.Webster (Euphorbiaceae), Rotula aquatica Lour., Revised: 29-06-2017, (Boraginaceae) Synedrella nodiflora (L.) Gaertn., Thunbergia erecta (Benth.) T. Accepted: 30-06-2017 Anders., Torenia fournieri Linden ex Fourn., and Trivalvaria dubia (Kurz) J. Sinclair are recorded first time from Arunachal Pradesh, North Eastern India. Keywords: Detailed descriptions and photographs are provided for easy identification. Six new records, Arunachal Pradesh, North East India. INTRODUCTION old literature on the flora of Arunachal Pradesh, The exploration of vegetation wealth of a region such as A Contribution to the Flora of Namdapha, gives us correct understanding of bio resources for Arunachal Pradesh (Chauhan et al., 1996), the betterment of human beings (Khan et al., 2015). Materials for the flora of Arunachal Pradesh (Hajra Arunachal Pradesh, by virtue of its geographical et al., 1996), Note on the floristic diversity and position, climate conditions and altitudinal vegetation types of the Mouling National Park, variations, is a biodiversity rich region in North Arunachal Pradesh. Himalayan Biosphere Reserves East India, with large zone of tropical wet (Kumar et al., 2004), A preliminary report on evergreen, subtropical, temperate and alpine forests floristic diversity of Dihang Dibang biosphere (Bawri et al., 2014). The present report of floristic reserve of Arunachal Pradesh, Bulletin of records provides available information on six Arunachal Forest Research (Choudhary, 2008), species of vascular plants which were reported from Phytodiversity and forest resources of Kane the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India for the first Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh (Dash, time. These plants were collected from nearby 2009), recent study from Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary forest area of Pasighat (28.0619° N, 95.3259° E) and Tiger Reserve in East Kameng District (Tag et and its surrounding area during the recent field al., 2012), Floral diversity of Arunachal Pradesh- surveys. All the specimens were taxonomically Upper Subansiri District (Ambrish, 2013) revealed verified using existing floristic treatises listed ahead that, Phyllanthus fraternus, Rotula aquatica, and herbarium consultation at Botanical Survey of Synedrella nodiflora, Thunbergia erecta, Torenia India, Arunachal Pradesh Regional Centre, Itanagar fournieri and Trivalvaria dubia are new records for (ARUN). The flora of Arunachal Pradesh is still the state. For all the species, voucher specimens under explorations, and the present botanical survey were deposited at the CAL and at North Eastern only contributes to some extent to the floristic Institute of Folk Medicine, Pasighat, Arunachal diversity of Arunachal Pradesh State. Perusal of the Pradesh, for future reference. Detailed description, http://biosciencediscovery.com 495 ISSN: 2231-024X (Online) K. Jeyaprakash and S. Rathinavel geographical distribution, ecology and photo plates are provided for its easy recognition. TAXONOMIC TREATMENT orbicular, obovate-oblong to oblanceolate, rounded, Phyllanthus fraternus G.L.Webster in Contr. Gray obtuse, acute or cuneate at base, rounded, obtuse, Herb. 176: 53. 1955 & in J. Arnold Arbor. 38: 309, apiculate or mucronulate at apex, 2 – 20 x 1 – 12 f. 19 G & H. 1957; R.L.Mitra & S.K. Jain in Bull. mm, membranous to thinly coriaceous, glabrous or Bot. Surv. India 27: 172, f. 3. 1985 (publ. 1987). P. sometimes scabrid on midrib above, glabrous to niruri auct. non L. 1753: sensu Hook.f., Fl. Brit. scabrid on major nerves beneath; lateral nerves 4 - 7 India 5: 298. 1887, p. p. pairs; petioles 0.4 - 1 mm long; stipules linear- Herbs, annual, erect or ascending, 10 - 50 lanceolate or subulate, truncate at base, entire, 0.4 - cm high; stem without leaves; deciduous branchlets 2 x 0.3 - 0.5 mm, thin, scarious. Inflorescences 4 – 8 cm long, subterete with a narrow sharp wing proximal cymules consisting of 1 - 3 male flowers on either side, scabridulous, especially along ridges or together with 1 female flower, distal cymules of wings, 10 – 30-leaved; internodes 2 – 4 mm long; usually bearing solitary female or sometimes with a leaf-bearing branchlets 2 - 15 cm long, flat, striate male flower also; bracts ovate-lanceolate or linear- and winged or angled, usually scabridulous. Leaves lanceolate, 0.5 - 1.5 x 0.2 - 0.6 mm, scarious, white- narrowly to broadly oblong, elliptic-oblong, margined. Fig.: 1. Phyllanthus fraternus: A. Habit, B. Male flower twig, C. Tender fruit and D. Mature fruit Male flowers: pedicels 0.5 - 1 mm long, slender, horizontally or obliquely dehiscent; antherthecae scabrid to glabrous; sepals 3 + 3, subequal, broadly divergent. Female flowers: pedicels 0.5 - 3 mm elliptic, obovate-elliptic, obovate-oblong to long, glabrous; sepals 3 + 3, unequal, obovate, suborbicular, 0.3 - 1 x 0.2 - 0.5 mm, hyaline and oblanceolate, linear-spathulate, obtuse to subacute white-margined, glabrous; disc glands 6, at apex, 1 - 2 x 0.3 - 1 mm, entire, scarious and suborbicular, obovate or flabellate, ca 0.1 mm white-margined, sometimes scabrid outside; disc in across; stamens 3; filaments connate into ca 0.2 mm a ring, irregularly cup-shaped, deeply dissected with long column; anthers sessile at column apex, linear or subulate segments; ovary subglobose, 0.5 - suborbicular or squarish, ca 0.1 mm across, 0.8 mm in diam., glabrous; styles 3, free, http://jbsd.in 496 ISSN: 2229-3469 (Print) Bioscience Discovery, 8(3): 495-501, July - 2017 erect or ascending, slender, bifid at apex. Fruits Trailing shrubs with flexuous branches, 1-3 m subglobose or depressed, 1 - 2 x 2 - 3 mm, height, gray or black-gray, tender branch usually shallowly 3-lobed or 3-angled, smooth; fruiting reddish, glabrous. Leaves alternate or fascicled, 1- pedicels 1.2 – 3.5 mm long; seeds trigonous, 1 - 1.5 2.5 x 7 mm, sessile, oblong-oblanceolate, ± x 0.7 - 1 mm, with 6 or 7 longitudinal ribs on the leathery, strigose, base rounded, cuneate to broadly back. cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse, mucronate. Flowers & Fruits: July – January. Flowers solitary or in few flowered cymes axillary; Distribution: India: N.E. India: Arunachal Pradesh, calyx 3.5 mm long 5-partite, lobes lanceolate; Mizoram and Tripura; North & South India and corolla pink, 6 mm long, 7 mm across, Lakshadweep Islands. campanulate, 5-lobed; stamens 5, anthers sagitate at Habitat and Ecology: This species is commonly base; ovary 4-celled, style filiform, stigma capitate. found on the road side, slopes along stream sides Fruit drupe, globose, brownish red when ripe, with stone mixed soil, at 183 – 226 m elevations. nearly dry. ca. 4 mm in diam., tipped with a The commonly associated species in the habitat persistent style. Seeds 4, (1-seeded) pyrenes, free, include Pachira aquatica Aublet, Mikania yellowish, smooth. micrantha Kunth, Phlagocanthus thirciflorus Nees, Flowers & Fruits: November-March Cyathula prostrata (Linnaeus) Blume, Polygonum Distribution: Nearly throughout India; China, chinense Linnaeus, Amorphophallus napalensis Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, (Wallich) Bogner & Mayo, Dioscorea bulbifera Thailand, Vietnam. Linnaeus, Elsholtzia blanda (Bentham) Bentham, Habitat and Ecology: This species is rarely found Piper sylvaticum Roxburgh., Chloranthus in Pasighat Siang River with stone mixed soil from officinalis Blume, Mussaenda frondosa Linnaeus Komlighat to D’Ering Wildlife sanctuary. The and Solanum spirale Roxburgh. commonly associated species in the habitat include Specimens examined: N.E. India: Arunachal Dichrocephala integrifolia (L.f.) Kuntze, Homonoia Pradesh: East Siang Dist. Pasighat along roadside; riparia Lour., Murdannia nudiflora (L.) Brenan, K. Jeyaprakash NEIFM-00389 & 00431. Fimbristylis bis-umbellata (Forssk.) Bubani, Rotula aquatica Lour., Fl. Cochinch.121. 1790; Kyllinga nemoralis (Forst.) Dandy ex Hutch., and I.M. Johnst. in J. Arn. Arb. 32:15.1951; Haridasan Dalziel, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv. & Rao, For. Fl. Meghalaya 2: 633. 1987; Specimen examined: N.E. India: Arunachal Chowdhery et al., in Giri et al., Mater. Fl. Aruun. Pradesh: East Siang Dist. Pasighat, Siang river Pradesh 2:189. 2008. Rhabdia lycioides acut. Non (Komlighat); K. Jeyaprakash NEIFM-413. Mart. 1827:C.B. Clarke in Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 4: 145 1883; Kanjilal et al., Fl. Assam 3: 335.1939. Fig.: 2. Rotula aquatica Habit http://biosciencediscovery.com 497 ISSN: 2231-024X (Online) K. Jeyaprakash and S. Rathinavel Synedrella nodiflora (L.) Gaertn., Fruct 2:456. T. achenes 3-4 mm long, dimorphic: of ray florets 171. F. 7. 1791; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 3:308. dorsally compressed, with lacerate wings; of disc 1881. Deb, the Fl. Trip. 2:227. 1983; Islam, Fl. florets trigonous, not winged, with 2 or 3 rigid Majuli 183. 1990; Chowdhery in Hajra et al., Fl. awns. India 12: 413. 1995. Bora and Kumar, Fl. Diver. of Flowers & Fruits: Throughout the year. Assam: Study of Pabitora WL. Sanct. 201. 2003.