Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 August 2020 | 12(11): 16641–16643

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5163.12.11.16641-16643

#5163 | Received 13 June 2019 | Final received 21 May 2020 | Finally accepted 27 June 2020

 

 

Reinstatement of Pimpinella katrajensis R.S.Rao & Hemadri (Apiaceae), an endemic species to Maharashtra with notes on its taxonomy and distribution

 

S.M. Deshpande 1, S.D. Kulkarni 2, R.B. More 3  & K.V.C. Gosavi 4

 

1,2,3 Yashavantrao Chavan Institute of Science, Sadar Bazar, Camp, Satara, Maharashtra 415001, India.

4 HPT Arts & RYK Science College, Sharanpur Road, Prin.T A Kulkarni , Vidya Nagar, Nashik, Maharashtra 422005, India.

1 deshpandeswapnaja85@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2 sagardkulkarni3@gmail.com, 3 rajmore.44@rediffmail.com,

4 kumarvinodgosavi@gmail.com

 

 

 

Editor: Mandar N. Datar, MACS-Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, India.          Date of publication: 26 August 2020 (online & print)

 

Citation: Deshpande, S.M., S,D, Kulkarni, R.B. More & K.V.C. Gosavi (2020). Reinstatement of Pimpinella katrajensis R.S.Rao & Hemadri (Apiaceae), an endemic species to Maharashtra with notes on its taxonomy and distribution. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(11): 16641–16643. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5163.12.11.16641-16643

 

Copyright: © Deshpande et al. 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: Self-funded.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: Authors are thankful to the director, Botanical Survey of India; Dr. P. Lakshminarasimhan and Prof. S.R. Yadav, Department of Botany, Shivaji University, Kolhapur for permitting the herbarium consultation facilities in BSI and SUK, respectively;   the director, Y.C. Institute of Science, Satara; head, Department of Botany & Zoology, Y.C. Institute of Science, Satara; and the principal HPT Arts & RYK Science College, Nashik.

 

 

 

Pimpinella L. is one of the largest genus of the subfamily Apioideae (Family: Apiaceae) having 200 species, distributed in Asia, Europe, and Africa (Mabberly 2008).  Only a few species of the genus are reported from South America and one occurs in North America (Pimenov & Leonov 1993).  In India, the genus is most speciose by having about 20 species (Mukherjee & Constance 1993).

De Candole (1827) divided the genus Pimpinella into three sections: Tragoselinum, characterized by its glabrous fruits and perennial roots; Tragium, with hairy fruits, perennial (rarely biennial) roots and pinnate to bipinnate radical leaves with ovate segments; and Anisum, which included species with down-covered annual fruits.  Bentham & Hooker (1867) reported 65–70 species of the genus Pimpinella and classified it into six sections according to the habitat of the plant, leaf & fruit morphology, and petal colour. Pimpinella can be distinguished from other genera by mainly perennial herbs, cordate-ovoid or oblong-ovoid, slightly laterally compressed fruits constricted at their commissures, each with five filiform ribs (Pu & Watson 2005).

During floristic survey of Satara District of Maharashtra State, some specimens belonging to the genus Pimpinella were collected from Ajinkyatara Fort.  Initially, we identified the unknown Pimpinella species as P. wallichiana Gandhi.  But after critical examination of specimens through perusal of literature (Hooker 1879; Rao & Hemadri 1976) and consultation of type and other specimen from BSI and SUK the specimens were identified as Pimpinella katrajensis Rolla Rao & Hemadri.

Mukherjee & Constance (1993) subsumed P. katrajensis into P. wallichiana without any reason while Almeida (1998) treated it as a variety of P. wallichiana based on leaf characters; however, both species are very distinct (Table 1).  Thus, in this communication we have provided morphological description, images, and distinguishing characters of P. katrajensis for correct identification and distribution note in Maharashtra State as also help resolve the name on the PlantList.

 

Pimpinella katrajensis Rolla Rao & Hemadri

Indian Forester 102(4): 232–234; 1976. (Image 1)

Perennial erect aromatic herbs; root fusiform, about 10cm long; stem terete striate, pubescent to glabrous, leaves pinnately trifoliate, petiole 12–15 cm long, sheathing at base, puberulous, ovate-orbiculate, cordate to truncate, acute at apex, margins coarsely toothed and cartilaginous, lower surface minutely pubescent, sparsely pubescent on upper surface; uppermost leaves smaller.  Inflorescences terminal compound umbels, large, tall, bisexual, puberulous, primary rays c. 5cm long, secondary rays 6–7 in number, 1–2.5 cm, long, puberulous, ebracteate.  Flowers 6–15 per umbel, ebracteolate, unequal pedicellate, pedicels pubescent.  Calyx teeth not distinguished.  Corolla white, hairy outside, petals 5, broadly ovate, with notch at tip, stamens 5, anthers 0.3–0.4 mm long.  Stylopodium distinct, conical shaped, styles very short.  Fruit laterally compressed, ovoid, 2.2–3 mm long, pubescent to tomentose.  Carpophore bifid.

Flowering & fruiting: September–December.

Habitat: Grows on rocky crevices on slopes at high altitude.

Distribution note: Pimpinella katrajensis is endemic to Maharashtra and only reported from two localities, Katraj Ghat near Pune and Pachgani in Satara District, however it is also distributed at Ajinkyatara, Vasota, Ambedare and Pateshwar in Satara District.

Specimens examined: K. 108794 (BSI) (holotype), 20.ix.1971, Katraj Ghat, Pune District, Maharashtra, India, coll. Hemadri (Image 2A; 002367 (NGCPR, SUK), 11.x.2018, Ajinkyatara Fort, Satara District, Maharashtra, India, coll. S.D Kulkarni & S.M. Deshpande (Image 2B).

 

 

Table 1. Distinguishing characters between Pimpinella katrajensis and P. wallichiana

Characters

P. katrajensis

P. wallichiana

Stem

White tomentose

Glabrous to sparsely hairy

Upper leaf

Tomentose, trifid

Glabrous, many dissected lobes

Basal leaflet margin

Crenate to crenulated

Serrate

Basal lateral leaflet base

Not oblique

Oblique

Bracts and bracteoles

Absent

Present, caducous

Rays

Tomentose

Glabrous to sparsely hairy

Ovary

Covered with white tomentose

Covered with hyaline tubercles

Fruit

Oblong, 2.2–3 mm long

Orbicular to oblong, 1.8–2 mm long

Out growth on fruit epidermis

Yellow pointed hairs with  thick base

Hyaline tubercles present

 

For images - - click here

 

 

References

 

Almeida, M.R. (1998). Flora of Maharashtra Vol. II Orient Press, Mumbai, 360pp.

Bentham, G. & J.D. Hooker (1867). Genera plantarum: Umbelliferae. Reeve & Co., London, 859–931pp.

De Candole, A.P. (1827). Dictionnaire classique d’histoire naturelle 11. Rey et Gravier, Libraries-Editeurs (Ed.) 406.

Hooker, J.D. & C.B. Clarke (1879). Umbelliferae: Flora of British India. Vol. 2  L. Reeve. London, 687pp.

Mabberley, D.J. (2008). Mabberley’s Plant Book: A Portable Dictionary of Plants, their Classification and Uses. 3rd edition. Cambridge University Press, 1021pp.

Mukherjee, P.K. & L. Constance. (1993). Umbelliferae (Apiaceae) of India. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 137–155pp.

Pimenov, M.G. & M.V. Leonov (1993). The genera of the Umbelliferae: a nomenclator. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Botanical Garden of Moscow University, Russia, 156pp.

Pu, F.T. & M.F. Watson (2005). Pimpinella L., pp. 93–104. In. Wu, Z.Y. & P.H. Raven (eds.). Flora of China. Vol. 14. Science Press, Missouri Botanic Gardens Press, 517pp.

Rolla, S.R. & K. Hemadri (1976). Pimpinella katrajensis Rolla Rao et Hemadri - a new species of Apiaceae from the sahyadri ranges Maharashtra state. Indian Forester 102(4): 232.