Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2021 | 13(14): 20292–20294

 

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

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7061.13.14.20292-20294

#7061 | Received 07 January 2021 | Final received 01 November 2021 | Finally accepted 02 December 2021

 

 

Pentatropis R.Br. ex Wight & Arn. (Apocynaceae), a new generic record for Kerala, India

 

V. Ambika 1, Jose Sojan 2  & V. Suresh 3

 

1,3 Department of Botany, Government Victoria College (University of Calicut), Palakkad, Kerala, India.

2 Department of Botany, Government College, Chittur (University of Calicut), Palakkad, Kerala, India.

1 ambikameenu123@gmail.com, 2 sojanchakkalackal@gmail.com, 3 sureshmagnolia@gmail.com (corresponding author)

 

 

 

Editor: Anonymity requested.   Date of publication: 26 December 2021 (online & print)

 

Citation: Ambika, V., J. Sojan & V. Suresh (2021). Pentatropis R.Br. ex Wight & Arn. (Apocynaceae), a new generic record for Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(14): 20292–20294. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7061.13.14.20292-20294

 

Copyright: © Ambika 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: University Grants Commission, Govt. of India as Junior Research Fellowship to V. Ambika.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge the director collegiate education, govt of Kerala for the necessary facilities and also thank respective principals of the two colleges for the support.

 

 

 

The Genus Pentatropis R.Br. ex Wight & Arn. (Apocynaceae) comprises six species, with a distribution ranging from Africa & Madagascar through Arabia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, to Australia (Jagtap & Singh 1999). In India it is represented by two species, viz., P. capensis and P. nivalis. The generic name Pentatropis is derived from Greek words penta meaning ‘five’ and tropis meaning ‘a keel’, referring to the shape of the corona (Jagtap & Singh 1999).  The genus is characterized by slender twining herbs or undershrubs, semi succulent leaves, small purplish flowers with rotate corolla and corona of five erect laterally compressed processes with an upcurved spur at base (Gamble & Fischer 1936). Pentatropis capensis is highly medicinal and the whole plant is used as antifungal, antiseptic, coolant and useful in skin diseases (Pandey et al. 2005).

During the floristic survey of Palakkad Gap, Western Ghats, Kerala, the authors came across a population of Pentatropis near Kozhinjampara, Palakkad, Kerala, which lies on the eastern front of the Palakkad Gap. Specimens were collected in flowering and the identity of specimen was confirmed as Pentatropis capensis (L.f.) Bullock using pertinent literature and consultation of specimens available at global biodiversity information facility (https://www.gbif.org/) and Kew science (https:/specimens.kew.org/). The taxon was previously known in India from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Gujarat (Matthew 1983; Pandey et al. 2005; Rao et al. 2016) but not reported from the state of Kerala (Vajravelu 1990; Sasidharan 2013). It is reported here as a new record for the state of Kerala. The description is given with notes and keys for easy identification.

 

Key to the Pentatropis in India

Flowers 3–4 per umbel, buds subglobose, corolla- lobes 3.5–6 mm long, deltoid, not tailed; corona-lobes acute at base, which curves outwards ….........………..........................………..………... P. capensis

Flowers 5–7 per umbel, buds acuminate, corolla-lobes 8–13 mm long, with linear tail; corona-lobes rounded at base …….…………………. P. nivalis

 

Pentatropis capensis (L.f.) Bullock, Kew Bull. 10(2): 284. 1955; Matthew, Fl. Tamil. Carn. 1: 955. 1983; Sharma et al., Fl. Karnataka 168. 1984; Singh, Fl. East. Karnataka 1: 414. 1988. Cynanchum capense L.f., Suppl. Pl. 168. 1781. Pentatropis microphylla (Roth.) Wight & Arn. in Wight, Contrib. 52. 1834; Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 4: 20. 1883; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 2: 587. 1957 (Repr. Ed.); Prain, Bengal plants 2: 512. 1963 (Repr. Ed.); Cooke, Fl. Pres. Bombay 2: 218. 1967 (Repr. Ed.). Asclepias microphylla Heyne ex Roth, Nov. Pl. Spec. 177. 1821. Colostephanus capensis (L.f.) Harv., Gen. S. Afr. Pl. 417. 1838. Vincetoxicum capense (L.f.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 424. 1891. Cynanchum acuminatum Thunb., Observ. Cynanch. 5. 1821. Cynoctonum capense (L.f.) E. Mey., Comm. Pl. Afr. Austr. (Meyer) 216.

Herbaceous twiners. Stem slender, glabrous, greenish-purple. Leaves simple, opposite, ovate, 1–3.5 × 0.5–2.5 cm, base rounded or cordate, margin entire, apex obtuse mucronate, glabrous, semi-succulent, petiole 4–7 mm long. Flowers in axillary umbels, 3–4 flowers per umbel, greenish-purple colour, buds subglobose; pedicel filiform, 1.7 cm long. Calyx 5-partite, lobe elliptic- lanceolate, 1.5 mm long, hyaline at margin, acute at apex, glabrous. Corolla rotate, lobes deltoid, 3.5–6 mm long, recurved at margin, apex acute, hairy, purple. Corona single, 5 erect laterally compressed processes with an upcurved spur at base. Pollinia pendulous, obovate, ca. 0.2 mm long, pollen- masses waxy, opaque without pellucid margin, glabrous, brown (Image 2; Figure 1). Follicles 3-angled, 6.5 cm long, lanceolate, beaked at apex, persistent with calyx. Seeds many, ovoid, 5 mm long, whitish at margin, end silky hairy, 2 cm long.

Specimen examined: Suresh GVCP-SV339 (Image 2) 14 October 2019, Kozhinjampara, Chittur, Palakkad district, Kerala state, India, 10.738°N, 76.820°E, 172m (Image 1, GVCH! Government Victoria College Herbarium - acronym submitted, not yet accepted).

Additional specimens examined: Pentatropis capensis (L.f.) Bullock:- BM001014189, January 1774, India, 22.883°N, 79.6162°E, Koenig s.n. (Isotype BM!); MO100951520, 14 September 1956, Yanam, Andhra Pradesh, 16.733°N, 82.213°E, Wagh 3863 (MO!); S10-25878, October 1981, Madras, near the Qutar minaret, Tamil Nadu, Fagerlind 9516 (S!).

Phenology: Flowering and fruiting: September to January.

Ecology: Pentatropis capensis is found growing on road sides in association with Abutilon indicum (L.) Sweet, Calotropis procera (Aiton) Dryand. and Cardiospermum halicacabum L. The species is well adapted to the arid climate of the Deccan and northwestern India.

Distribution: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam (POWO 2021); India (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Gujarat (Pandey et al. 2005; Rao et al. 2016), and Kerala (Chittur, Kozhinjampara, reported here).

This species is widely distributed in arid to semiarid belts of central and peninsular India. It is a therophyte (therophytes are annual but this species is perennial) according to life form classification by Raunkiaer and it thrives in arid climate by bearing unfavourable dry seasons in dormant form (Raunkiaer 1934; Kambhar & Kotresha 2012).

In this report, a therophytic perennial species of Pentatropis genus (P. capensis) belonging to the family Apocynaceae was reported as a new record for the state of Kerala from the eastern part of the Palakkad Gap.

 

For images & figure - - click here

 

References

 

Gamble, J.S. & C.E.C. Fischer (1936). Flora of the Presidency of Madras. Adlard & Son Ltd, London, 834–835pp.

Jagtap, A.P. & N.P. Singh (1999). Fascicles of Flora of India: Fascicle 24, pp. 38–39. Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata,

Kambhar, S.V. & K. Kotresha (2012). Life-forms and biological spectrum of a dry deciduous forest in Gadag District, Karnataka, India”. Research and Review Journal of Botany 1(1): 1–28.

Matthew, K.M. (1983). The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic. The Rapinat Herbarium, St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchirapalli 3(1): 925, 928, 955 pp.

Pandey, C.N., B.R. Raval, S. Mali & H. Salvi (2005). Medicinal plants of Gujarat- Species Description and Medicinal Uses: Chapter- XIV. Gujarat Ecological Education and Research Foundation, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 233 pp.

POWO (2021). “Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet; http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/ Retrieved 30 October 2021.”

Rao, K.S., R.A. Singh, D. Kumar, R.K. Swamy & N. Page (2016). Digital Flora of Eastern Ghats. http://flora-peninsula-indica.ces.iisc.ac.in/EasternGhats/herbsheet.php?id=487&cat=4

Raunkiaer, C. (1934). Life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Calderon Press, Oxford. (English translation of collected papers by C. Raunkiaer 1903).

Sasidharan, N. (2013). Flowering plants of Kerala CD-ROM (Version 2). Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, Kerala.

Vajravelu, E. (1990). Flora of Palghat District including Silent Valley National Park, Kerala. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta.