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Journal of Threatened Taxa Building evidence for conservaton globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Short Communication Re-collection, extended distribution, and amplified description of Vaccinium paucicrenatum Sleumer (Ericaceae) from the Arunachal Himalaya in India Subhasis Panda 26 June 2021 | Vol. 13 | No. 7 | Pages: 18925–18932 DOI: 10.11609/jot.5341.13.7.18925-18932 For Focus, Scope, Aims, and Policies, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/aims_scope For Artcle Submission Guidelines, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/submissions For Policies against Scientfc Misconduct, visit htps://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/policies_various For reprints, contact <[email protected]> The opinions expressed by the authors do not refect the views of the Journal of Threatened Taxa, Wildlife Informaton Liaison Development Society, Zoo Outreach Organizaton, or any of the partners. The journal, the publisher, the host, and the part- Publisher & Host ners are not responsible for the accuracy of the politcal boundaries shown in the maps by the authors. Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June 2021 | 13(7): 18925–18932 ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) OPEN ACCESS htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.5341.13.7.18925-18932 #5341 | Received 16 August 2019 | Final received 02 October 2020 | Finally accepted 27 May 2021 SHORT COMMUNICATION Re-collecton, extended distributon, and amplifed descripton of Vaccinium paucicrenatum Sleumer (Ericaceae) from the Arunachal Himalaya in India Subhasis Panda Angiosperm Taxonomy & Biodiversity Conservaton Laboratory, Botany Department, Maulana Azad College, 8, Raf Ahmed Kidwai Road, Kolkata, West Bengal 700013, India. [email protected] Abstract: Vaccinium paucicrenatum Sleumer has been re-collected on average-linkage dendrogram calculated from raw from three diferent districts of Arunachal Pradesh approximately afer data for 76 Vaccinium OTU’s (Operatonal Taxonomic 91 years subsequent to I.H. Burkill’s collecton (no. 36976, K) from Ripsing of outer Abor Hills (presently a part of East and West Siang Unit) using the dissimilarity form of Gower’s co-efcient districts nearby Pashighat area) of Arunachal Pradesh on 8 March, for mixed data, principal coordinates analysis, and 1912. Due to poor descripton by the earlier workers, the present paper provides amplifed descripton based on feld and herbarium parttoning analysis (vander Kloet et al. 2003). They data including leaf anatomy (leaf stomata and vein-islets), detailed re-circumscribed Vaccinium sect. Aethopus Airy Shaw extended distributon, live and herbarium images and distributon map not only merging V. setpes under V. paucicrenatum but for easy identfcaton in the feld. also included other four species as valid and another Keywords: Arunachal Pradesh, leaf anatomy, northeastern India. four species as synonyms under these valid species transferring from Vaccinium sect. Vits-idaea (Moench) W.D.J. Koch. These species are V. nummularia Hook.f. The genus Vaccinium L., consistng of about 140 & Thomson ex C.B. Clarke (V. chaetothrix Sleumer as a species (Mabberley 2008), is distributed in tropical synonym), V. retusum (Grif.) Hook.f. ex C.B. Clarke (V. Asia, Europe, southeastern Africa, Madagascar, and haitangense Sleumer as a synonym), V. moupinense north and south America. Of these, 28 species are Franch. (V. dendrocharis Hand.-Mazz. and V. merrillianum reported to occur in India (Panda & Sanjappa 2014) and Hayata as synonyms), and V. delavayi Franch. are distributed in the eastern Himalaya, northeastern Shaw (1948) erected a new species, V. setpes, India (except Tripura) and the hill tops of the southern from “Assam populaton of outer Abor Hills, Ripshing” Western Ghats. (Arunachal Pradesh in India) of V. paucicrenatum Sleumer vander Kloet et al. (2003), merged Airy Shaw’s new based on I.H. Burkill collecton (no. 36976, K photo!) species, Vaccinium setpes, under V. paucicrenatum which was cited by Sleumer (1941) as V. paucicrenatum Sleumer in Vaccinium sect. Aethopus Airy Shaw based in the protologue. Shaw (1948) distnguished “Assam” Editor: Anonymity requested. Date of publicaton: 26 June 2021 (online & print) Citaton: Panda, S. (2021). Re-collecton, extended distributon, and amplifed descripton of Vaccinium paucicrenatum Sleumer (Ericaceae) from the Arunachal Himalaya in India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(7): 18925–18932. htps://doi.org/10.11609/jot.5341.13.7.18925-18932 Copyright: © Panda 2021. Creatve Commons Atributon 4.0 Internatonal License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproducton, and distributon of this artcle in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publicaton. Funding: Botanical Survey of India awarded me JRF & SRF to survey this work. Tenure: 1999-2004. There is no specifc project. Competng interests: The author declares no competng interests. Acknowledgements: Author is grateful to Dr. M. Sanjappa, former director in Botanical Survey of India for his necessary help during feld studies, to the curators and librarians of Central Natonal Herbarium (CAL) and ARUN for their essental help during herbarium and taxonomic literature consultatons and to CCF, Itanagar for their kind permission. Author is also grateful to the principals of Barasat Govt. College and Darjeeling Government College for grantng permission for laboratory work. 18925 J TT Re-collecton of Vaccinium paucicrenatum from Arunachal Himalaya Panda populaton of V. paucicrenatum as V. setpes due to the were counted at Lohit populaton (7) and Lower Subansiri presence of unique hispid-setose pedicels and axillary populaton (6). Based on these exomorphological and fascicled raceme which are not found in V. paucicrenatum leaf anatomical data, specimens of Vaccinium L. are Sleumer. Therefore, Shaw (1948) erected a new species, identfed as V. paucicrenatum Sleumer. According to V. setpes under Vaccinium sect. Aethopus Airy Shaw. Airy shaw (1948), V. paucicrenatum was not reported As a result of taxonomic revisionary work on the from India. But according to vander Kloet et al. (2003), Indian Ericaceae under “Flora of India Project” of the V. paucicrenatum had been reported by Sleumer (1941) Botanical Survey of India (1999–2004), as well as other based on I. H. Burkill collecton (no. 36976, K) from Outer natonal projects (UGC) on Indian Ericaceae (2009–2011) Abor Hills in 1912. and a project (2014–16) to supervise natonal scholar (Rajiv Gandhi Fellow, UGC), extensive feld visits were Materials and Methods done during these periods at diferent localites of the The present work is the result of an extensive eastern Himalaya including a major part of Arunachal feld visit in diferent districts of Arunachal Pradesh in Pradesh by the author. 2003–2014 as well as herbarium consultatons in Indian From the visits, specimens from three interestng herbaria (CAL, DD, ASSAM, ARUN). This work also epiphytc Vaccinium populatons from three diferent recorded GPS points (used GARMIN eTrex 10 model) districts of Arunachal Pradesh were collected on 24 April data (lattude-longitude and alttudes) during feld visits. 2003 from Lohit (S. Panda 30881, CAL), 25 February 2010 The work was carried out partly in Central Natonal from Kurung Kumey (S.S. Dash 31690, ARUN-Aruncahal Herbarium (Voucher specimen deposited: S. Panda Pradesh Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India at 30881: Lohit populaton) and partly in the laboratory of Itanagar), and 21 November 2014 from Lower Subansiri Angiosperm Taxonomy & Ecology, Barasat Govt College (S. Panda, P. Roy & D.S. Mahanty, 55, DGC-Darjeeling (S. Panda 30881: Lohit populaton-leaf anatomy), Govt College Herbarium). Number of individual plants Darjeeling Govt. College (Lower Subansiri Populaton Image 1. Distributon of Vaccinium paucicrenatum Sleumer in Arunachal Himalaya in India (collecton sites of Kurung Kumey, Lower Subansiri and Lohit districts with magnifed Google Earth imagery). Indian map with Arunachal Pradesh <www.maphill.com>. 18926 Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June 2021 | 13(7): 18925–18932 Re-collecton of Vaccinium paucicrenatum from Arunachal Himalaya Panda J TT Panda et al. 55: Darjeeling Govt College Herbarium). Taxonomic treatment and amplifed descripton Fruitng materials of V. paucicrenatum belonging to S.S. Dash 31690 (ARUN: Arunachal Herbarium, Botanical Vaccinium paucicrenatum Sleumer Survey of India) was consulted in November, 2014 at (Images 1–5; Figure 1) Arunachal Herbarium by the author. Botanical identty in Engl., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 71(4): 432–433. 1941; was confrmed with consultaton of Type images (BM!; Merrill, Britonia 4(1): 157. 1941; Airy Shaw, Kew Bull. K!) as well as consultaton of relevant literature including 1948: 246. 1948; vander Kloet et al., Acta Bot. Yunnanica protologue. Amplifed descripton of V. paucicrenatum is 25(1): 21. 2003; Panda & Sanjappa in Sanjappa & Sashtri, based on all three feld collectons (S. Panda 30881, S.S. Fasc. Fl. India (Ericaceae) no.