Flemingia tuberosa Dalz.
(Fabaceae) - a new addition to the flora of Kerala,
India
K. Subrahmanya Prasad1, P. Biju 2 & K. Raveendran 3
1,3 Department of P.G. Studies & Research in Botany, Sir Syed College, Taliparamba, Kannur, Kerala 670142, India
2 Department of Botany, Government College, Vidyanagar,Kasaragod, Kerala 671123, India
Email: 1 prasadks.1090@rediffmail.com
(corresponding author)
Date of publication (online): 26 February 2011
Date of publication (print): 26 February 2011
ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)
Editor: N.P. Balakrishnan
Manuscript details:
Ms # o2524
Received 25 July 2010
Final received 05 January 2011
Finally accepted 17 January 2011
Citation: Prasad, K.S., P. Biju & K. Raveendran (2011). Flemingia tuberosa Dalz. (Fabaceae) - a new addition to the flora
of Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(2): 1548-1549.
Copyright: © K. Subrahmanya Prasad, P. Biju & K. Raveendran 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 UnportedLicense. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this
article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by
providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.
Acknowledgements: Authors are thankful to Dr. Gopalakrishna Bhat, Poornaprajna College,Udupi for confirming the
identity of plant specimen. Thanks are also due to the principal
and management, Sir Syed College, Taliparambafor providing facilities. First
author is grateful to KSCSTE for financial support.
During a survey of flowering plants along the
proposed thermal power plant area of Cheemeni, Kasaragod District, Kerala, the authors collected one
interesting Fabaceae member with trailing stem and
lilac flowers. On detailed
examination of the specimen, it turned out to be Flemingia tuberosa Dalz., a plant earlier known from Concan(Hooker 1876), Maharashtra (Dalzel & Gibson 1861;
Cooke 1908), Goa (Rao 1985) and districts of North Kanara (Talbot 1909) and Udupi (Bhat 2003) in Karnataka. This species is hitherto not recorded from the state of
Kerala (Nayar et al. 2006). Brief description, economic importance and photographs of
this species are given to facilitate its easy identification.
Flemingia tuberosa Dalz. (Images
1-3)
in Hooker’s J. Bot. Kew Gard. Misc. 2: 34. 1850; Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 2: 230. 1876; Dalz. & Gibs., Bombay Flora 75.1861; Woodr., J. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc. 11:
426.1897; Cooke. Fl. Pres. Bombay 1: 230. 1908; Bhat, Fl. Udupi 150. 2003.Moghania tuberosa (Dalz.)Kuntze, Rev. Gen. Plant. 1: 199.1891.
Under shrubs; stems 0.9-1.2 m long, scandent or trailing; branches terete;
roots tuberous, oblong, tapering at one end, 5-6.25 cm long, dark brown
outside, white inside. Leaves 3-foliolate; leaflets 1.8-3.5 x 0.4-0.8 cm, linear–oblong,
oblong–elliptic or lanceolate, acute, hairy
along the nerves, ciliate on margins; nerves 8-11 pairs; petioles ca 1.4x2.6 cm
long; stipules minute, acute, caducous. Flowers solitary, in few-flowered lax axillaryracemes; peduncles distinct, exceeding the leaves; bracts and bracteoles rigid,
minute. Calyx 1-1.2 cm,
prominently ribbed, covered with yellowish hairs; teeth sub equal. Corolla lilac, slightly exerted; keel
very narrow, incurved at the tip. Stamens 9 + 1. Pod oblong, 1-2-seeded, slightly
exceeding the calyx, glabrous.
Specimen examined: 17.x.2010, Cheemeni, Kasaragod District,
Kerala, India, coll. K.S. Prasad, 01650 Sir Syed College
Herbarium, Taliparamba, Kannur(SSC).
Distribution: Konkan, Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada,
Goa, and Maharashtra. Recorded for the first time in Kerala.
Habitat: Growing in grassy slopes.
Flowering and fruiting: September - October.
Notes: This species is known for its edible
tuberous roots, which are often offered for sale in country fairs and markets. In Marathi it is known as Birmova (Dymock et al. 1890), and Jaambula Gadde in Kannada (Bairy 2007). Tubers are sweet and astringent, people consume
them either raw or roasted which removes astringency. Fresh tubers contain 40.12% starch, 25.47% sugar and gum,
13.04% albuminoids, 12.16% cellulose, 4.13% asparagin, 3.44% ash, 1.16% yellow resin and are used as a
remedy for dysentery and diarrhoea (Dymock et al. 1890).
Dalzel & Gibson (1861)
reported it from Malwan District of erstwhile Bombay
Presidency. Talbot (1909)
considered it as ‘apparently endemic’ to Concan and
North Kanara. Bhat (2003) reported it as ‘very rare’ in Udupi District of Karnataka. Rao (1985) included it from Goa
without giving location and status. However, Kothari (2000) reported it as ‘rare’ in moist deciduous forests
of Raigad, Ratnagiri and
Thane of Maharashtra.
The present collection is from a proposed
thermal power station site, which makes this plant highly vulnerable in
Kerala. Since, it is rare
elsewhere there is a call for urgent attention for conservation of this rare,
palatable and medicinally important plant.
References
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T.S. (2007). Ethnomedico-botanical
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K.G. (2003). Flora
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