NeBIO An international journal of environment and biodiversity Vol. 8, No. 4, December 2017, 260 ISSN 2278-2281(Online Version) ☼ www.nebio.in SHORT COMMUNICATION Two new combinations in the genus Afrohybanthus (Violaceae) in India Umakant B. Deshmukh Higher Learning and Research Centre, and P.G. Department of Botany, Janata Mahavidyalaya, Chandrapur. 442401, India. Email: [email protected] Introduction Afrohybanthus vastavayii (C.S.Reddy) U.B. Deshmukh comb.nov. The genus Hybanthus Jacq. with ca.125 species is the third Hybanthus vastavayii C.S.Reddy J. Econ. Taxon. Bot. 25: 219–220. 2001. largest genus of family Violaceae (Ballard et al., 2014). First in Afrohybanthus puberulus (M. Gilbert) U.B. Deshmukh comb.nov. 1760 Nicolaus Jacquin described Hybanthus on the basis of type Hybanthus puberulus M. Gilbert, Nord. J. Bot. 12 (6): 689 - 693. 1992; Sasi species Hybanthus havanensis Jacq. Many authors described et al. in Zoo’s Print. 26(12), 30-31. 2011; Parthipan & Rajendran, Zoo’s Print, 27(12), 24-25. 2012; Rajendran, Parthipan & Sasi Zoo’s Print, 28 other genera allies to Hybanthus based on various Neotropical (12),15-16. 2013. hybanthoid taxa as type species like Pombalia Vand. (1771), Solea Spreng. (1800), Ionidium Vent. (1803), Ionia Pers. ex Steud. (1821), References Ionia Steud. (1840), Acentra Phil. (1870), Cubelium Raf. ex Britton Ballard, H.E. Jr., Paula Souza, J. & Wahlert, G.A. 2014. Violaceae. & A.Br. (1897) and for species of southern Australia Pigea DC. In: Kubitzki, K. (Ed.) The families and genera of vascular (1824), Vlamingia De Vries (1845) and Clelandia J.M. Black (1932). plants, Volume XI Flowering plants. Eudicots. Malphiales. For the Hybanthus caledonicus groups Pigea is the validaly Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 303–322. http://dx.doi.org/10. published and earliest available generic name (Wahlert et al., 1007 /978-3-642-39417-1_25. 2014). Recently for the Hybanthus enneaspermus clade Flicker and Wahlert, G.A., Marcussen, T., de Paula-Souza, J., Feng, M. & Ballard, (2015) gave a new generic name Afrohybanthus Flicker. Ballard, H.E. Jr. 2014. A phylogeny of the Violaceae According to theb authors Afrohybanthus is similar to Hybanthus (Malpighiales) inferred from plastid DNA sequences: caledonicus clade in spurred base of bottom petals but differs in Implications for generic diversity and intra familial taxonomy. seed characters and the position of glands on the stamens. Systematic Botany 39: 239–252. http://dx.doi.org/10.1600 Afrohybanthus differs from Hybanthus sensu stricto in many /036364414X678008. characters like base of bottom petals spurred, having solitary Flicker, B.J. & Ballard Jr., H.E. 2015. Afrohybanthus (Violaceae), a flowers, two staminal glands, filament with short collar, and 3–5 new genus for a distinctive and widely distributed Old World seeds per capsule valve. hybanthoid lineage. Phytotaxa 230 (1): 39–53. http://dx.doi. org /10.11646/phytotaxa.230.1.3 In India, the genus Afrohybanthus is represented by four species Kamble, S.K., Forster, P.I & Patil, B.J. 2016. Afrohybanthus namely Afrohybanthus enneaspermus (L.) Flicker., A. travancoricus indicus (Violaceae): a new species from Maharashtra, India. (Bedd.) Flicker., A. stellarioides (P.Forster) Flicker. And A. indicus Phytotaxa 252(1): 069-072. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phyto S. K. Kamble & Patil (Kamble et al., 2016). taxa.252.1.7 Reddy, C.S. 2001. Hybanthus vatsavayii (Violaceae): A new Reddy (2001) reported Hybanthus vatsavayii C.S.Reddy as a new species from Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of Economic and species from Andhra Pradesh, India. Later, Sasi et al. (2011) TaxonomicBotany 25: 219–220. reported H. puberulus M. Gilbert. As a new record for India. Sasi, R., Sivalingam, R. & Rajendran, A. 2011. Hybanthus Hybanthus puberulus was further recorded from Karnataka by puberulus M. Gilbert. (Violaceae) – A new record for India. Prathipan et al. (2012) and from Tamil Nadu by Rajendran et al. Zoo’s Print 26 (12): 30–31. (2013). Both H. vatsavayii and H. puberulus show characters like Pratipan, M. & Rajendran, A. 2012. Distribution of Hybanthus inflorescence solitary, base of bottom petal spurred, short collar puberulus M. Gilbert. (Violaceae) – A new record for of filament connation, two glands and pale yellow coloured Karnataka. Zoo’s Print 27: 24–25. ribbed seed. Therefore both these species should be treated under Rajendran, A., M. Parthipan & R. Sasi. 2013. Extended genus Afrohybanthus Flicker. for which new combination is distribution of Hybanthus puberulus M. Gilbert.(Violaceae) in proposed here. India Zoo’s Print, 28(12): 15-16. © 2017. NECEER, Imphal. All rights reserve © 2017. NECEER, Imphal. All rights reserved .