Journal
of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2020 | 12(17):
17366–17369
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4750.12.17.17366-17369
#4750 | Received 08 December 2018 | Final received 12
July 2020 | Finally accepted 27 November 2020
Strobilanthes affinis (Acanthaceae):
a new addition to the flora of Manipur, India
Sanjeet Kumar 1 &
Rajkumari Supriya Devi 2
1 Ambika Prasad Research
Foundation, First Floor, Sarswati Tower, Laxmisagar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751006 India.
2 Biodiversity & Conservation
Division, Regional Centre, Ambika Prasad Research Foundation, Imphal, Manipur 795001, India.
1 sanjeet.biotech@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 supriyark91@gmail.com
Editor: K. Haridasan,
Pallavur, Palakkad, Kerala, India. Date
of publication: 26 December 2020 (online & print)
Citation: Kumar, S.
& R.S. Devi (2020). Strobilanthes affinis (Acanthaceae): a new
addition to the flora of Manipur, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(17): 17366–17369. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4750.12.17.17366-17369
Copyright: © Kumar & Devi 2020. Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction,
and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to
the author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: Core works of APRF, India.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: The authors are thankful to the
director, Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), Imphal; Dr. S.B. Ummalyma, Dr. S.S. Thorat, & Dr. B.G. Somkuwar, IBSD, Imphal; and the
local communities of the study area. The
authors are also thankful to Smt. Padma Mahanti,
director, Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, Thiruvananthapuram and
Smt. Lekshmi R, Eravikulam
National Park, Munnar, Kerala.
The genus Strobilanthes
Blume (1826: 781) from the family Acanthaceae (Wood
& Scotland 2009) is a genus of perennial flowering herbs and shrubs with
about 453 species worldwide (Biju et al. 2017; Mabberly
2017; Thomas et al. 2019, 2020; Wood et al. 2019). In India, the genus is represented by ca. 150
species (Scotland 1998; Gopalan & Chitra 2008; Karthikeyan et al. 2009;
Wood 2014; Biju et al. 2017), and it is found mostly in evergreen forests. The name Strobilanthes
is derived from the Latin word “Strobilos”
meaning cone and “anthos” meaning flower or
shoot. For the first time, the genus was
scientifically described by Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees
Von Esenbeck in the 19th century for the
plants which bloom after long intervals, while some species of Strobilanthes bloom annually (Preethi & Suseem 2014; Josekutty et al.
2016, 2017, 2018; Augustine et al. 2017).
The genus is distributed in the tropical regions of Asia starting from
Afghanistan through India and Southeast Asia to Australia (Josekutty
et al. 2018). During 2017–2018, while
surveying floral diversity around Imphal, Manipur,
when the weather was clear and the vegetation was on the verge of blooming, an
exciting view of a blue patch of herbs was recorded. The site was an isolated place near an
abandoned old temple-like structure. It
appeared like a small hill at the periphery of a human inhabitation which might
have been used in the past as a sacred place where local deities may have been
worshipped. It was a moist shady place
with huge aged trees sheltering and nurturing vegetation beneath. A significant patch of blue coloured herbs
with a height of 45–85 cm were blooming with bright blue coloured flowers in
the area of around 4.5–6.5 m2 on the slopes of a small hillock. After careful observation in the field, the
first author confirmed that the specimen belongs to the genus Strobilanthes but confused it with S. auriculata or S. jeyporensis. After a detailed study of the specimen’s
morphology (Image 1) and pollen morphology (Image 2), and comparison with S.
kunthiana, it was confirmed that the collected
species was S. affinis. This specimen was again confirmed by
professor John Wood, University of Oxford, United Kingdom. After confirmation, literature survey and
critical characterization, it was noticed that collected plant had been earlier
reported from China (Wood et al. 2003) and the species was also collected by
J.D. Hooker and T. Thomson from Meghalaya as S. acrocephala
more than 10 decades ago. Therefore,
it was concluded that the present specimen that was collected is identified as S.
affinis and reported here for the first time
from Manipur as an extended distribution.
During our field survey of the
flora of Manipur (24.916 N & 93.961 E, 803m), some unidentified species of
the genus Strobilanthes were collected. The specimens were packed in cloth bags and
brought to the laboratory for analysis.
The relevant floras were consulted for confirming its identity. A thorough review of the literature, detailed
morphological and consultation of herbarium provided by professor Wood revealed
that the specimen was Strobilanthes affinis (Griff.) Terao ex J.R.I.Wood J.R.Benn. The mounting of herbarium specimens was
accomplished using standard taxonomic procedure (Jain & Rao 1977; Bridson & Forman 1998). The voucher specimens
(APRF-MAN-BCD/2018-0004) were deposited in the “APRFH” Herbaria, Ambika Prasad
Research Foundation, Odisha, India. The
photographs of the diagnostic characteristics were taken by Stereo Microscope,
(Leica MC 120 HD).
Taxonomic enumeration
Strobilanthes affinis (Griff.) Terao
ex J. R. I. Wood J. R. Benn
Description: Herbs, 50–82.5 cm
tall with many branches. Stems angular
(quadrangular) with white pubescent, hairs. Leaves ovate-elliptic, 7–5 x 4–3 cm
to 9–0 x 6–3 cm. Leaves simple, petiole,
3.5–4.3 cm long. Inflorescences axillary or terminal,3.0–7.5 cm. Each inflorescence has two flowers that have
bloomed, after drying another couple of flowers bloom. Flowers size, 1.9–2.3 cm long, 1.2 x 1.2–2.0
x 1.8 cm wide. Floral bracts imbricate
with large-celled trichomes. Corolla
violet or bluish-violet. Stamens 4 and glabrous, 5.0–2.2 mm.
Fruits capsule, pubescent, four seeded, 4.0–7.0 mm. Seeds brown ovate (Image 1).
Flowering & Fruiting:
August—March
Distribution: China and India
(Manipur, Meghalaya).
Specimen examined:
APRF-MAN-BCD-2018-004, India, Manipur, Imphal, 24.9160N
& 93.9610E, 803m, Kumar Sanjeet 012
(Holotype APRFH) (Image 4).
Habitat & Ecology: The
collected species is Strobilanthes affinis found on a small hill top of Manipur
State. The collected area lies in the
Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot region.
It was observed that the habitat is Moist-deciduous vegetation. The most common associated herbs and climbers
are Passiflora foetida,
Solanum nigrum, Sida cordifolia, Cissampelos
pareira, and Phyllanthus reticulatus
with some tree species like Bombax ceiba and Pongamia
pinnata.
It was found in 6.09 x 9.14 – 4.57 x 7.01 m area of a hill top of said
region.
Remarks: The most unique
characters of collected specimen are four exerted stamens (Image 3). Wood et al. (2003) described it from China
and recorded that the flowering period is only from September to November. In the present study, however, it was
observed that it flowers from August to March.
It was also observed that Sida acuta is the main associate flora of the collected
species. As it is found only one region
of Manipur, it should be assessed for threat status using categories of IUCN,
and take necessary conservation action.
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