Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 July 2021 | 13(8): 19181–19184
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5135.13.8.19181-19184
#5135 | Received 31 May 2019 | Final received
03 July 2021 | Finally accepted 06 July 2021
Notes on lectotypification
of the Assam Ironwood Mesua assamica (King & Prain) Kosterm. (Calophyllaceae)
Prantik Sharma Baruah 1 ,
Sachin Kumar Borthakur 2 & Bhaben Tanti 3
1–3 Department of Botany, Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam 781014, India.
1 Present Address: Department of
Botany, Nowgong College (Autonomous), Nagaon, Assam
782001, India.
1 prantik1610@gmail.com, 2 skbgu1@gmail.com,
3 btanti@gauhati.ac.in (corresponding author)
Editor: Pankaj Kumar, Kadoorie
Farm and Botanic Garden, Tai Po, Hong Kong S.A.R., China. Date
of publication: 26 July 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Baruah, P.S., S.K. Borthakur & B. Tanti (2021). Notes on lectotypification
of the Assam Ironwood Mesua assamica (King & Prain) Kosterm. (Calophyllaceae). Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(8): 19181–19184. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5135.13.8.19181-19184
Copyright: © Baruah et al. 2021. 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: Department of Biotechnology, Government of
India for the research
project entitled “Preventing
extinction and improving conserva-
tion status of threatened plants through application of biotechnological tools” vide sanction
number BT/Env/BC/01/2010, dt. 23.iii.2012.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: Funding support received from the
Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India for the research project
entitled “Preventing extinction and improving conservation status of threatened
plants through application of biotechnological tools” vide sanction number BT/Env/BC/01/2010, dt. 23.iii.2012
is greatly acknowledged.
Mesua assamica
(King & Prain) Kosterm., commonly known
as ‘Sia- Nahor’ in Assamese
is a slow-growing, large, evergreen tree belonging to the family Calophyllaceae. Leaves are simple, opposite, ovate in
shape, light to dark green in colour and coriaceous in texture. Leaf apex is
acuminate, base rounded with entire margin, and petiolate. Venation is semi-craspedodromous in nature, distally forming distinct loops
with bold inter-secondary veins. Flowers are small, white or creamy white,
bisexual, fragrant and coriaceous bearing numerous golden yellow coloured
stamens and a 4-fid stigma. Fruit is 1-seeded and globose. Flowering occurs in
the months of April–May (Baruah et al. 2017). It is distributed in India,
Myanmar and the Malay Peninsula (www.catalogueoflife.org/col.). In India, the
plant is, however, confined only to the sub-montane forests of both Lakhimpur
and Dhemaji districts of Assam (Kanjilal
et al. 1934; Sharma et al. 1993; Baruah et al. 2016, 2020). Although the
species has not been assessed by IUCN yet, it is reported as Endangered at a
regional level based on its small restricted population (Choudhuri
2007).
The species was reported for the
first time by Barker from the foot hills of the North Lakhimpur district of
Assam and the specimens were submitted to the Forest School at Dehra Dun in
October 1886 for identification, but having received no definite reply he sent
a flowering material to the Calcutta Herbarium (CAL). Prain
(1901) commented that Barker’s specimen was not sufficient enough to identify
the species but opined that the specimen belonged to the same natural order as
that of Mesua in the genus Kayea. Further, King & Prain
described the species as Kayea assamica based on two sets of specimens (fruiting and
flowering) collected by H.G. Young and Mr. Barker from the erstwhile Dibrugarh
district of Assam, India (Prain 1901).
Out of the set of fruiting specimens
available for the species, three of them are housed in Central National
Herbarium (CAL), Kolkata, India (CAL 47574; CAL 47575; CAL s.n.);
one in Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques ville de Geneva (G)
(G00355757) labelled as Syntype by P.F. Sturn in
1975. All those specimens belonging to the collection of Young bear the same
date and place of collection, i.e., December 1899 and Dibrugarh, Assam, India.
Moreover, there is a fruiting specimen collected by Young with the same date
and place of collection, i.e., December 1899 and Dibrugarh, Assam, India housed
at Kew (K000677304). Another specimen collected by Young on December 1899 from
Dibrugarh bearing only leaves has been housed at Natural History Museum, London
(BM000611295) which had been designated as Isosyntype
by P.F. Stevens in 1985. Among the flowering specimens available, one of them
(CAL 47573) housed in CNH, Kolkata, India is without any date of collection and
collector’s details, whereas there is an attached illustration of the
reproductive parts drawn by King & Prain with the
specimen. It evident from the letter of Young to David Prain
dated 6 December 1899 and a confirmation slip that remained attached with the
above voucher specimen. While the other flowering specimen (K000677305) has been
housed in Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K) collected by Young from Dibrugarh but
with a date of collection of 29 June 1900 and labelled as Isosyntype
by P.F. Sturn in 1985. The whereabouts of the
specimen of Barker referred to by Prain (1901) could
not be ascertained as there are nine materials presently housed at Herbarium of
the Forest School at Dehradun (DD) (DD 69649; DD 70659; DD 70660; DD 76170; DD
76171; DD 85505; DD 85506; & DD 85507 together with a collection of H.G.
Young from Dibrugarh dated 06.xii.1899). Out of the voucher specimens housed at
DD, there is only one collection of Young from Dibrugarh in 1899. As no types
were designated specifically to Mesua
(whereas, P.F. Sturn designated the types twice for
the species, under the genus Kayea, once
referring fruiting material in 1975 and flowering material in 1985), lectotypification is therefore necessary in this study
(Deka et al. 2018). Kostermans (1969) while
transferring the species Kayea assamica to Mesua
mentions specimens of both Young and Barker housed at BM, G, and K, but he or
any of the subsequent workers did not designate any of these specimens as
Lectotype.
Out of the five specimens
collected by H.G. Young from Dibrugarh on 06.xii.1899, one specimen presently
housed at Kew (K000677304), three specimens are housed at CAL (CAL 47574; CAL
47575; and CAL s.n.) and one specimen housed at DD
(DD s.n.). Further, the flowering specimen presently
housed at CAL (CAL 47573) was supposed to be used while describing the species,
but is presently in a dilapidated condition except the illustration attached to
it. Even after rigorous search we were unable to locate Barker’s specimens.
Therefore, after consulting the protologues and study of all the original
specimens examined by King & Prain, the fruiting
specimen of the taxa housed at Kew (K000677304) collected by H.G. Young from
Dibrugarh in 06.xii.1899 agreed with the description provided in the protologue
and hence selected as the lectotype and specimens housed at CAL (CAL 47574; CAL
47575; & CAL s.n.) and the specimen housed at DD
(DD s.n.) have been selected as isolectotypes.
Lectotypification: Mesua
assamica (King & Prain)
Kosterm., Reinwardtia,
7: 426 (1969).
Lectotype (designated here):
INDIA. Assam: Dibrugarh, December 1899, H.G. Young (K000677304); isolectotypes (CAL 47574; CAL 47575; CAL s.n.; & DD s.n.).
Table 1. List of all specimens
examined.
|
|
Herbarium |
Collector |
Studied material |
|
1 |
CAL |
- |
s.n. (47573, CAL) |
|
H.G. Young |
Assam, Dibrugarh, December,
1899, H.G. Young (47574, CAL) |
||
|
Assam, Dibrugarh, December,
1899, H.G. Young (47575, CAL) |
|||
|
Assam, Dibrugarh, December,
1899, H.G. Young (s.n., CAL) |
|||
|
2 |
G |
H.G. Young |
Assam, Dibrugarh, December,
1899, H.G. Young (G00355757, G) |
|
3 |
BM |
H.G. Young |
Assam, Dibrugarh, December,
1899, H.G. Young (BM000611295, BM) |
|
4 |
K |
H.G. Young |
Assam, Dibrugarh, December,
1899, H.G. Young (K000677304, K) |
|
Assam, Dibrugarh, 06.xii.1899,
H.G. Young (DD) |
|||
|
Assam, Dibrugarh, 24.vi.1900,
H.G. Young (K000677305, K) |
|||
|
5 |
DD |
Range officer, Tinsukia Range |
Assam, Lakhimpur dist., loc. Dibru Reserve, Tinsukia Range, Range officer, 70659 (DD) |
|
Assam, Lakhimpur dist., loc. Dibru Reserve, Tinsukia Range, 21.ix.1935, Range officer,
70660 (DD) |
|||
|
Range officer, North Lakhimpur
Range |
Assam, North Lakhimpur Range,
December, 1937, Range officer, 76170 (DD) |
||
|
Assam, North Lakhimpur Range,
December, 1937, Range officer, 76171 (DD) |
|||
|
Assam, North Lakhimpur Range,
Range officer, 85505 (DD) |
|||
|
Assam, North Lakhimpur Range,
Range officer, 85506 (DD) |
|||
|
S.K. Dutta |
Assam, North Lakhimpur,
26.v.1940, S.K. Datta, 85507 (DD) |
||
|
6 |
ASSAM |
U. Kanjilal |
Assam, Lakhimpur dist., loc.
Dulong Reserve Forest, 24.iii.1914, Alt. 310 ft., U. Kanjilal,
3678 (ASSAM) |
|
Assam, Lakhimpur dist., loc.
Dulong Reserve Forest, 24.iii.1914, Alt. 310 ft., U. Kanjilal,
3678 (ASSAM) |
|||
|
Assam, Lakhimpur dist., loc.
Dulong Reserve Forest, 24.iii.1914, Alt. 310 ft., U. Kanjilal,
69649 (DD) |
|||
|
Assam, Lakhimpur dist., loc. Dirju, 06.iv.1914, Alt. 300 ft., U. Kanjilal,
4398 (ASSAM) |
|||
|
Assam, Lakhimpur dist.,
18.vii.1932, U. Kanjilal, 10256 (ASSAM) |
|||
|
N. Odyuo
& D.K. Roy |
Assam, North Lakhimpur, loc. Kakoi Reserve Forest, Block Nala
Hill top, 11.ii.2011, Alt. 196 m., N. Odyuo &
D.K. Roy, 121241 (89633, ASSAM) |
||
|
Assam, North Lakhimpur, loc. Kakoi Reserve Forest, Block Nala
Hill top, 11.ii.2011, Alt. 196 m, N. Odyuo &
D.K. Roy, 121241(89634, ASSAM) |
|||
|
N. Odyuo |
Assam, North Lakhimpur, loc. Dullung Reserve Forest, Ghokor
2, 07.v.2011, Alt. 250 m., N. Odyuo, 122387 (89648,
ASSAM) |
||
|
Assam, North Lakhimpur, loc. Dullung Reserve Forest, Ghokor
2, 07.v.2011, Alt. 250 m., N. Odyuo, 122387 (89649,
ASSAM) |
|||
|
Assam, North Lakhimpur, loc. Dullung Reserve Forest, Ghokor
2, 07.v.2011, Alt. 250 m., N. Odyuo, 122387 (89650,
ASSAM) |
|||
|
D.K. Roy & N. Odyuo |
Assam, North Lakhimpur, loc. Dullung Reserve Forest, Pathalipam,
17.ix.2011, D.K. Roy & N. Odyuo, 123113 (89647,
ASSAM) |
||
|
N. Odyuo
& R. Daimary |
Assam, North Lakhimpur, loc. Dullung Reserve Forest, Ghokor
1, 21.v.2012, Alt. 120 m., N. Odyuo&R. Daimary, 126669 (89635, ASSAM) |
||
|
Assam, North Lakhimpur, loc. Dullung Reserve Forest, Ghokor
1, 21.v.2012, Alt. 120 m., N. Odyuo & R. Daimary, 126669 (89636, ASSAM) |
|||
|
P. Sharma Baruah |
Assam, North Lakhimpur, loc. Dullung Reserve Forest, Pathalipam,
23.iv.2016, P. Sharma Baruah, 1(92897, ASSAM) |
||
|
Assam, North Lakhimpur, loc. Dullung Reserve Forest, Pathalipam,
23.iv.2016, P. Sharma Baruah, 1(92898, ASSAM) |
|||
|
Assam, North Lakhimpur, loc. Dullung Reserve Forest, Pathalipam,
23.iv.2016, P. Sharma Baruah, 1(92899, ASSAM) |
Abbreviations: CAL—Central
national Herbarium/Calcutta Herbarium | G—Geneva Herbarium | BM—The Natural
History Museum | K—Kew Herbarium | DD—Herbarium of the Forest Research
Institute, Dehra Dun | ASSAM—Eastern Regional Centre, Shillong,
BSI (Botanical Survey of India).
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