Sida ravii Sivad. & Anil Kumar (Malvaceae) a new record from Tamilnadu, India

 

N. Dhatchanamoorthy 1, P. Raja 2, S. Soosairaj 3 & A. Kala 4

 

1,2,4 Research Scholar, 3 Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu 620002, India

1 dhatcha@gmail.com, 2 raja.plantbiology@gmail.com, 3 pspsoosai@yahoo.in (corresponding author), 4 akalabot7@yahoo.in

 

 

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3581.7716-9

 

 

Editor: N.P. Balakrishnan, Retd. Joint Director, BSI, Coimbatore, India. Date of publication: 26 August 2015 (online & print)

 

Manuscript details: Ms # o3581 | Received 11 April 2013 | Final received 11 June 2015 | Finally accepted 08 August 2015

Citation: Dhatchanamoorthy, N., P. Raja, S. Soosairaj & A. Kala (2015). Sida ravii Sivad. & Anil Kumar (Malvaceae) a new record from Tamilnadu, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 7(10): 7716–7719; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3581.7716-9

 

Copyright: © Dhatchanamoorthy et al. 2015. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

 

Funding: None.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: The authors are thankful to the Director, Botanical Survey of India, Southern Regional Centre, Coimbatore for providing facilities and support. We also thank the forest officials of Tiruchchirappalli District.

 

 

The genus Sida has 150–200 species distributed widely in tropical and subtropical regions of the world (Willis 1973). Eighteen species are known to occur in India (Sivarajan & Pradeep 1994). Nine species of Sida occur in Tamil Nadu, along with two subspecies (Daniel & Umamaheshwari 2001). S. fryxellii Sivar. & Pradeep is endemic to Kerala (Sivarajan & Pradeep 1990). Sida ravii Sivad. & Anil Kumar is endemic to peninsular India (Sivadasan & Kumar 1996).

The genus Sida consists of annual or perennial herbs or undershrubs with axillary flowers either solitary, or in clusters by the development of axillary buds or raceme or panicles by replacement of the upper leaves. Epicalyx is absent. Corolla is rotate, connate below and adnate to the staminal column. Staminal column is shorter than the petals. Carpels are 5–14, uniovolate. Fruits are schizocarps, globular to oblate and depressed. Mericarps are more or less trigonous, muticous or with the two awns at apex. Seeds are ovoid-oblong to reniform.

Sida spp. also show a wide range of morphological variability (Fryxell 1978 & 1985). The characters of Sida ravii showed close relationship to Sida acuta Burm.f. and Sida spinosa L. (Table 1). Fryxell (1985, 1988, 1997) revised Indian Malvaceae which is followed in the revised Flora of India (Paul 1993). Sivarajan & Pradeep (1994) stated that the genus Sida was a difficult group and several authors had attempted sub-generic classification of the genus. Based on the number of carpels and seeds per carpel, De Candolle (1824) recognized three sections in Sida, namely, Malvinda Medik. Abutiloides Kunth. & Medik. and Abutilon Kunth.

 

 

 

 

Pachchaimalai is situated in Tiruchirapalli District in the southern Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu and lies between 11016’28.320”N & 78038’02.742”E. The Pachchaimalai Hills with altitude ranging from 700–1200 m shows a subtropical climate with temperatures varying from 25–31 0C and the annual rainfall ranging from 800–900 mm. The Pachchaimalai is floristically rich by virtue of its geographical location, varied forest types, different bio-climatic features, soil and topography. Pachchaimalai is rich in vegetation and also socio-religiously important and approximately 350 ethnobotanical medicinal plants used by indigenous people are present here.

During field exploration (2012–2014) at Pachchaimalai, the authors collected specimens of an interesting species of Sida. A critical examination of the specimens revealed its identity as Sida ravii. The identity of the species was further confirmed with published literature (Fryxell 1978). This species has so far not been collected from Tamil Nadu. Hence, the present collection is the first report and is an addition to the flora of Tamil Nadu. Voucher specimens are deposited at the Department herbarium, St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli. A detailed description, nomenclature and other relevant information are provided for the easy identification of Sida ravii and a table of differentiation from the close resembling species S. acuta, and S. spinosa.

Sida ravii

Sivad. & Anil Kumar, Willdenowia 25: 651. 1996.

Erect, profusely branched undershrubs, up to 1.5m high; branchlets subterete, stellate-hairy. Leaves alternate, ovate-lanceolate, oblong-elliptic or lanceolate, 2–7 x 1–4 cm, cordate-rounded at base, crenate, serrate at margin, acute at apex, sparsely stellate-pubescent or glabrescent; 6–8 pair of main lateral nerves, basally 5-nerved at base. Petioles terete, 5–15 mm long, slightly thickened below. Stipules 2, linear, 5–7 mm long. Flowers axillary, 1–3 flowered; pedicel erect, terete, bent upwards, 1–3 cm long. Calyx 5-lobed, campanulate, articulate near calyx base; lobe deltoid, ca. 5mm long, acuminate at apex, faintly 10-nerved, glabrous inside. Corolla 5-lobed, rotate, 15–20 cm across; petals 5, obliquely obovate, 10–12 mm long, shallowly emarginated at apex, simple hairy. Staminal tube cylindrical, 3–4.2 mm long; filament filiform, ca. 1.5mm long, glabrous. Ovary ovoid, ca. 2mm long; 5-loculed; ovules two per cell; style filiform, 2–3.5 mm long, glabrous; stigma capitate. Schizocarp subglobose, ca. 7mm long; mericarps 8–10 or 12, radially compressed, reticulately ribbed beneath, divergent, mucronate at apex, glabrous or stellate-hairy; seeds 1–2 per cell, subreniform, 1.5mm long, glabrous, brownish-black (Fig. 1).

Specimens examined: SJCBOT1218, 19.xi.2012, Tiruchirappalli District: On way to Ramanathapuram from Turaiyur (Pachchaimalai), 759m, coll. S. Soosairaj (Fig. 2; Image 1).

Flowering & Fruiting: July–December.

Habitat: Rare, along roadsides and cultivated lands, at about 750m altitude. Found associated with Senna tora, Sida acuta, Sida cordifolia, Solanum americanum and Vernonia anthelmintica.

Distribution: India; Kerala and Tamil Nadu (Pachchai-malai)

Remarks: In India, Sida ravii is reported to occur in the Western Ghats, Kerala (Kumar et al. 2005). However, there are no authentic specimens from any of the southern states in the Madras Herbarium (MH) and it is not reported in any of the floras pertaining to the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats (Haines 1924; Fyson 1932; Mooney 1950; Gamble 1957; Narasimhan 1991; Matthew 1983, 1999; Pullaiah & Moulali 1997; Pallithanam 2001; Manickam et al. 2003; Murugesan 2006; Nayar et al. 2006; Pullaiah & Karuppusamy 2008). We found Sida ravii to be rarely distributed in the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu. Probably it is spread from Kerala State as the Tapioca stem cuttings are purchased for cultivation.

 

 

 

 

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