Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2019 | 11(15): 15079–15082

 

 

 

Bhutan Asiabell Codonopsis bhutanica Ludlow (Asterales: campanulaceae): a new addition to the Indian flora

 

Samiran Panday 1, Vikas Kumar 2 , Sudhansu Sekhar Dash 3, Bipin Kumar Sinha 4 & Paramjit Singh 5

 

1 Budge Budge College, 7-D.C. Das Road, Shyampur, Kolkata, West Bengal 700137, India.

2 Central National Herbarium, Botanical Survey of India, Howrah, West Bengal 711103, India.

3,4,5 Botanical Survey of India, CGO Complex, Sector 1, Salt Lake, Kolkata, West Bengal 700064, India.

1 drsamiranpanday@gmail.com, 2 vmadhukar7@gmail.com, 3 ssdash2002@gmail.com (corresponding author), 4 drbks2004@gmail.com, 5 pchanna@gmail.com

 

 

doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4708.11.15.15079-15082   

 

Editor: Pankaj Kumar, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) Corporation, Tai Po, Hong Kong S.A.R., China.        Date of publication: 26 December 2019 (online & print)

 

Manuscript details: #4708 | Received 18 November 2018 | Final received 13 December 2019 | Finally accepted 16 December 2019

 

Citation: Panday, S., V. Kumar, S.S. Dash, B.K. Sinha & P. Singh (2019). Bhutan Asiabell Codonopsis bhutanica Ludlow (Asterales: campanulaceae): a new addition to the Indian flora. Journal of Threatened Taxa 11(15): 15079–15082. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4708.11.15.15079-15082

 

Copyright: © Panday et al. 2019.  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: MOEF&CC, New Delhi (under the NMHS scheme (NMHS/2015–16/LG–05)).

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to the Director, Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Kolkata, and to: the head of Central National Herbarium (BSI), Howrah, for facilities and encouragement; the Forest Department and deputy commissioner, Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh for giving permission for the fieldwork; and MOEF&CC, New Delhi.

 

 

The genus Codonopsis Wall. [Campanulaceae] comprises of about 55 species distributed in central, eastern, and southern Asia, with Indochina region as the primary centre of speciation (Hong 2015; Dash 2018; Mabberley 2018).  The members of the genus are characterized by perennials herbaceous ascending herbs or twiners, with solitary and large campanulate flowers; and with a peculiar foetid odour. C.B. Clarke (1881) reported 10 species of Codonopsis from British India; Kanjilal et al. (1939) reported only two species in Flora of Assam; Haridasan & Mukherjee (1996) dealt with 13 species of Codonopsis in Fascicles of Flora of India; and recently Dash & Mao (2011) described a new species Codonopsis vadsea S.S. Dash & A.A. Mao from Vadse Hills of Arunachal Pradesh, while Mao & Barbhuiya (2014) reported a Codonopsis tubulosa Kom. from Dzukou Valley of Manipur. The present estimate shows that the genus is represented by 15 species in India, primarily distributed in the Himalayan region and adjacent areas (Dash 2018).

During our field exploration in Tawang District, Arunachal Pradesh in August 2017, some interesting plants of Codonopsis were collected from the sub-alpine area of the Bumla region (Images 1 & 2, Figure 1).  A thorough study of the live material, available relevant literature (Clarke 1881; Kanjilal et al. 1939; Haridasan & Mukherjee 1996; Clement 2001; Giri et al. 2008; Hong et al. 2011; Dash & Mao 2011; Panday & Sinha 2012; Mao & Barbhuiya 2014; Hong 2015) and comparison of herbarium specimens and images with ASSAM, BM, CAL and K, the identity of the taxa was confirmed as Codonopsis bhutanica Ludlow.  The species has not been reported from India so far, and thus reported here as an addition to the Indian flora.  A detailed taxonomic description along with a photo collage illustrating different features of the plant, and a map showing the locality is provided here.

 

Codonopsis bhutanica Ludlow,

J. Roy. Hort. Soc. 97: 127. 1972; R.A. Clement in Grierson & D.G. Long (eds.), Fl. Bhutan 2(3): 1385. 2001; Deyuan et al. in Z.G. Wu, P. Raven & D.Y. Hong (eds.), Fl. China 19: 523. 2011. C. thalictrifolia sensu Kanwal et al., J. Threat. Taxa 11(9): 14229. 2019 (non. Wall. 1824: 106).

Type: Bhutan, northeastern Bhutan, Shingbe Me La, 27.9660N & 91.6500E, 3810m, 02.vii.1949, F. Ludlow, G. Sherriff & J.H. Hicks. 20786 (BM000996411!). 

Plants herbaceous. Stems procumbent, 25–45 cm, with several slender branches at lower part; branches with purple spots, faintly hairy.  Leaves alternate or nearly opposite, ovate-oblong or narrowly oblong, cordate, 7–22 × 6–18 mm, entire or thickened at margin, often recurved, obtuse at apex, sparsely hispidulous on both surface, more along the midrib on ventral surface; sessile or shortly petiolate, petiole 2–4 mm long.  Flowers solitary, terminal on the main stem and sometimes on upper branches, rachis 6–10 cm long, often with purple patches; calyx adnate to ovary up to middle, lobes linear, or narrowly ovate, 6–11 × 3–5 mm, glabrous or hispidulous.  Corolla tubular, 12–16 mm, deeply purple, violet at base; outer surface of corolla pale blue or purplish, inner surface of corolla whitish with purple spots; corolla lobe 5, rounded.  Stamens 5; filaments dilated at base, pale yellow, glabrous, 3–4 mm long; anthers basifixed, yellow, 2–2.5 mm.  Gynoecium 8–12 mm long, lower half of style with ovary deep violet, upper half with stigma pale violet in colour; ovary inferior, 3-locular with numerous ovules; stigma 3-fid, c. 2mm across.  Capsules conical, green, 12–15 × 8–12 mm.  Seeds numerous, ellipsoid.

Flowering & Fruiting: July–October.

Habitat and ecology: Rarely found in grassy slopes or thickets, 3,500–4,500 m.

Distribution: Bhutan, Nepal, India (Arunachal Pradesh—this report).

Specimen examined: 87971 (CAL!), 31.viii.2017, India, Arunachal Pradesh, Tawang District, Bumla, Near Nagula Lake, 27.651°N & 91.861°E, 4,100m, coll. V. Kumar & S. Panday (Image 3).

Associated species: The species is found associated with Meconopsis simplicifolia (D. Don) Walp., Pedicularis siphonantha D. Don, Codonopsis foetens Hook.f. & Thomson, Juncus cephalostigma Sam., Gypsophila cerastoides D. Don etc.

Notes: The species was previously reported only from Nepal and Bhutan and considered as endemic to central and eastern Nepal and Bhutan (Hong 2015); however, the collection of this species from the Bumla area of Arunachal Pradesh confirms its occurrences in India and shows an eastern extension from its type locality.  Kanwal et al. (2019) have erroneously reported Codonopsis thalictrifolia as a new distributional record for Arunachal Pradesh.  The herbarium and coloured image provided by Kanwal et al. (2019) shows that the flowers are campanulate, deep reddish-purple, corolla c. 1.4 cm long, corolla lobes triangular-ovate in shape and all these characters refer to the species C. bhutanica instead of C. thalictrifolia in which flowers are tubular, flared at mouth, pale blue, corolla 2.5–5.5 cm long, corolla lobes broadly oblong in shape.

 

 

For figure & images  - - click here

 

 

References

 

Clarke, C.B. (1881). Campanulaceae, pp. 421–442. In: Hooker, J.D. (ed.). The Flora of British India, Vol. 3. L. Reeve & Co., London, 712pp.

Clement, R.A. (2001). Campanulaceae, pp. 1375–1397. In: Grierson, A.J.C. & D.G. Long (eds.). Flora of Bhutan, Vol. 2(3). Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh and Royal Government of Bhutan, 1675pp.

Dash, S.S. (2018). On Appraisal of the genus Codonopsis Wall. [Campanulaceae] in India. Abstracts of International Symposium on conservation of Angisperm Diverisity: Hidden Treasure of Today and Tomorrow. Dept. of Botany, The Maharaja Siyajirao Univeristy of Boroda, Vododara.

Dash, S.S. & A.A. Mao (2011). A new species of Codonopsis Wall. (Campanulaceae) from Arunachal Pradesh, India. Nelumbo 53: 17–20.

Giri, G.S., A. Pramanik & H.J. Chowdhery (2008). Materials for the Flora of Arunachal Pradesh, Vol. 2. Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, 492pp.

Haridasan, V.K. & P.K. Mukherjee (1996). Campanulaceae, pp. 25–118. In: Hajra, P.K. & M. Sanjappa (eds.). Fascicles of Flora of India - Vol. 22. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta, 144pp.

Hong, D. (2015). A Monograph of Codonopsis and Allied Genera (Campanulaceae). Science Press, Beijing, 270pp.

Hong, D. (2015). Campanulaceae, pp. 100–152. In: Flora of Pan-Himalaya. Vol. 47. Science Press, Beijing, 292pp.

Hong, D., G. Song, T.G. Lammers & L.L. Klein (2011). Campanulaceae, pp. 505–563. In: Wu, Z.G., P. Raven & D.Y. Hong (eds.). Flora of China. Vol. 19. Science Press, Beijing & Missouri Botanic Garden Press, St. Louis, USA.

Kanjilal, U.N., P.C. Kanjilal & A. Das (1939). Flora of Assam, Vol. 3. Govt. Press, Shillong, 588pp.

Kanwal, K.S., U.L. Tiwari, L. Yama & M.S. Lodhi (2019). Extended distribution record of two bellflower species of Codonopsis (Campanulaceae) from the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Journal of Threatened Taxa 11(9): 14228–14231. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4432.11.9.14228-14231

Mabberley, D.J.  (2018). Mabberley’s Plant-Book: A Portable Dictionary of Plants, their Classifications and Uses, 4th Edition. Cambridge University Press, London, 215pp.

Mao, A.A. & H.A. Barbhuiya (2014). Extended distribution of Codonopsis tubulosa (Campanulaceae) in India. Nelumbo 56: 234–237.

Panday, S. & B.K. Sinha (2012). Rediscovery of Campanumoea javanica Blume- a rare climber of Campanulaceae from Phawngpui National Park in Mizoram, India. Pleione 6(1): 241–243.