Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June
2019 | 11(8): 14080–14082
A report
on additions to the flora of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India
Johny Kumar Tagore 1, Ponnaiah
Jansirani 2 & Sebastian Soosairaj
3
1,3 PG
and Research Department of Botany, St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil
Nadu 620002, India.
2 PG and
Research Department of Botany, JJ College of Arts & Science, Sivapuram Post, Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu 622422, India.
1 jktagore_bo1@mail.sjctni.edu
(corresponding author), 2 jansishankar@gmail.com, 3 pspsoosai@yahoo.co.in
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4751.11.8.14080-14082
Editor: N.P. Balakrishnan, Coimbatore,
India. Date of publication: 26 June 2019
(online & print)
Manuscript details: #4751 | Received 08 December
2018 | Final received 08 June 2019 | Finally accepted 14 June 2019
Citation: Tagore, J.K., P. Jansirani & S. Soosairal (2018). A report on additions to the flora of Andaman &
Nicobar Islands, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 11(8): 14080–14082. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4751.11.8.14080–14082
Copyright: © Tagore 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: The authors
(JKT) acknowledge Department
of Biotechnology, Government
of India, for the financial
assistance under the
project ‘QAMPRA&N’.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing
interests.
Acknowledgements: The authors
are grateful to the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science &
Technology, New Delhi, India, for the fellowship under the project entitled
‘Mapping of plant resources of Andaman and Nicobar Islands’. They are also thankful to Prof K.N. Ganeshaiah, UAS, GKVK, Bengaluru; Dr M. Sanjappa,
UAS-GKVK, Bengaluru, and Dr M.V. Ramana, Osmania University, Hyderabad.
The Andaman & Nicobar Islands, with a total
geographical area of 8,250km2, is the largest archipelago
representing an arcade of Islands situated about 1,200km off the southeastern coast of India in the Bay of Bengal,
stretching from Myanmar in the north to Sumatra (Indonesia) in the south
(6.750–13.683 N & 92.200–93.950 E).
These Islands harbour luxuriant lowland rainforests besides wetlands,
mangroves, and coral reefs. There are
106 protected areas in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, including nine
national parks, 96 wildlife sanctuaries, and one biosphere reserve (Rao
1986). The floral elements of these
Islands often show a close affinity with that of Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Thailand, and Sri Lanka. The phytodiversity of these islands is unique and one of the
richest in India in terms of diversity with a remarkable degree of genetic
variations.
While working on the ‘Quantitative assessment and
mapping of plant resources of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’, some specimens
were collected from Dhanikari Botanical Gardens,
South Andaman and Palmtikiri, Little Andaman
Islands. A critical study revealed that
they were hitherto unreported from this archipelago. After a detailed consultation of literature
(Srivastava 1998; Sinha 1999; Sabu 2006; Pandey & Diwakar 2008) and a
critical examination of the specimens, they were identified as Monochoria hastata
and Alpinia malaccensis. Thus, the present findings constitute new
distribution records for Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Detailed descriptions along with field images
are provided for these two species to facilitate easy identification for future
studies.
Alpinia malaccensis
(Burm. f.) Rosc., Trans. Linn. Soc. London 8: 345. 1807; Hook. f., Fl.
Brit. India 6: 255. 1820. Maranta malaccensis Burm.f., Fl. Ind.
2. 1768.
Rhizomatous herbs.
Leafy stems robust, to 3m high.
Leaves narrowly lanceolate, acuminate, up to 60cm × 7cm,
usually pubescent; ligule c. 1cm long, hairy, coriaceous, entire; sheaths
shortly pubescent; petiole 3–5 cm, rounded, pubescent. Inflorescence erect or slightly curved, main
axis pubescent; bracts absent. Cincinni of two very shortly pedicellate flowers or reduced
to a single flower, stalk 0.5–1.5 cm, pubescent; bracteoles white, open to
base, 1.5–2.0 cm, folded around the bud becoming quickly deciduous as the
flower opens, lightly pubescent at apex.
Calyx white, 2cm, pubescent at least at the apex, shortly 3-lobed and
deeply split unilaterally. Corolla white,
tube up to 1cm, glabrous; lateral lobes
3cm × 1cm, ciliate-margined, dorsal lobe broader, also ciliate. Labellum yellow-orange, heavily lined with
scarlet strips, 3–5 cm, 3cm across at widest part, sides incurved,
narrowing to an emarginate apex, with twp papillose
swellings at the base. Lateral
staminodes subulate, less than 5mm; filaments c. 1cm; anther of equal
length or longer, thecae parallel, connective not prolonged into a crest. Epigynous glands
5mm, free from each other. Ovary 5mm,
pubescent, trilocular. Capsules turning red at length, globose, up
to 3cm in diameter, shortly pubescent.
Flowering and fruiting: May–November.
Distribution and habitat: Extends from northeastern India (and now from Andaman & Nicobar
Islands) to Indochina, southwards to Peninsular Malaysia and Java. Found along banks of streams in evergreen
forests.
Specimens examined: 0965 (PBL, CAL), 22.v.2012, India, Andaman & Nicobar
Islands, South Andaman Islands, Dhanikari
Botanical Garden, 11.575N & 92.664E, 35m, coll. M.V. Ramana & J.K.
Tagore.
Note: The species was collected from the Nicobar
Islands and introduced in Dhanikari Botanical
Gardens, South Andaman.
Monochoria hastata
(L.) Solms in A. de Candolle
& C. de Candolle, Monogr. Phan. 4: 523. 1883; Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 6: 362. 1892. Pontederia
hastata L., Sp. Pl. 1: 288. 1753.
Perennial aquatic herbs. Vegetative stems often long and robust;
60–120 cm. Radical leaves with
sheath broadened at base; leaf blade triangular or triangular-ovate, 5–15(–25)
cm × 3–15 cm, base sagittate to hastate, apex acute to
acuminate; petiole 25–75 cm.
Flowering stems erect or obliquely so, 45–80 cm. Inflorescences erect or suberect, remaining
so after anthesis, sub-umbellate to shortly racemose, 15–50-flowered; peduncle
distinctly shorter than associated leaf petiole. Pedicels 1–3 cm. Perianth segments bluish with green median
vein and reddish blotch, ovate, 9–15 mm.
Larger stamen: anther 5–6 mm, bluish. Smaller stamens: five, filiform; anthers
3.0–3.5 mm, pale yellow. Style
densely and shortly spreading, hairy at apex.
Capsule oblong, 6–7 mm.
Seeds brown, oblong; wings c. 10mm.
Flowering: August–December.
Fruiting: December–March.
Distribution and habitat: It is found in marshy
regions near waterfalls. It also occurs
in wet swamps, freshwater pools, drainage channels, mudflats in rivers, and
along canal banks. It is a purely
submerged aquatic herb. It is recorded
as a component of floating mat vegetation.
This species occurs in Bhutan, India (throughout Assam and other northeastern states; also as weeds in northern and central
states of India and now from Andaman & Nicobar Islands), Nepal, Sri Lanka,
and southeastern Asia, extending to New Guinea and
Australia.
Specimens examined: 1089 (PBL, CAL), 13.xi.2012, India, Andaman & Nicobar
Islands, Little Andaman, Palmtikiri, 10.617N
& 92.508E, 120m, coll. M.V. Ramana.
References
Pandey, R.P. & P.G. Diwakar
(2008). An integrated checklist of
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany
32(2): 403–500.
Rao, M.K.V. (1986). A preliminary report on the angiosperms of Andaman
and Nicobar Islands. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 8:
107–184.
Sabu, M. (2006). Zingiberaceae and
Costaceae of south India. Indian Association for
Angiosperm Taxonomy, University of Calicut, Kerala, 282pp.
Sinha, B.K. (1999). Flora of Great Nicobar Island. District Flora Series. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta, 525pp.
Srivastava, S.K. (1998). Zingiberaceae in Andaman
& Nicobar Islands, India. Indian Journal of Forestry, Additional Series
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