Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June 2022 | 14(6): 21311–21314
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7635.14.6.21311-21314
#7635 | Received 28 August 2021 | Final
received 22 March 2022 | Finally accepted 17 May 2022
Pelatantheria insectifera (Rchb.f.)
Ridl. (Orchidaceae): a new
generic record for Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India
V. Ashok Kumar 1, P.
Janaki Rao 2, J. Prakasa Rao 3,
S.B. Padal 4 & C. Sudhakar Reddy 5
1–4 Department of Botany, Andhra
University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh 530003, India.
5 Forest Biodiversity and Ecology
Division, National Remote Sensing Centre, Indian Space Research Organisation, Balanagar, Hyderabad, Telangana 500037, India.
1 vinjamuriashok94@gmail.com, 2
janakiraopujari57@gmail.com, 3 jprakasarao@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 4 sbpadal08@gmail.com, 5 drsudhakarreddy@gmail.com
Editor: Pankaj Kumar, Kadoorie
Farm & Botanic Garden, Tai Po, Hong Kong S.A.R., China. Date
of publication: 26 June 2022 (online & print)
Citation: Kumar, V.A., P.J. Rao, J.P. Rao,
S.B. Padal & C.S. Reddy (2022). Pelatantheria insectifera (Rchb.f.)
Ridl. (Orchidaceae): a new
generic record for Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 14(6): 21311–21314. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7635.14.6.21311-21314
Copyright: © Kumar et al. 2022. 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
(DBT) and Department of
Space (DOS) No. BT/Coord.II/10/02/2016.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: Authors are thankful to the
Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Department of Space (DOS) for the
financial assistance of this research through a project entitled “Biodiversity
Characterisation at Community level in India using Earth Observation Data”. Authors
are also thankful to the forest department for their help during the field
studies. Our special thanks to K. Samuel & P. Eswara
Rao for their great help in the field studies and Y. Samuel for technical
support.
Abstract: The monopodial orchid Pelatantheria insectifera
is reported here as a new generic record for the state of Andhra Pradesh
(India). Further, detailed diagnostic description, colour photo plates for easy
identification and note on ecology were provided.
Keywords: Orchid, Sileru
Forest Range, Visakhapatnam.
Orchidaceae is the second largest family in
the flowering plants, with about 28,000 species distributed in the world (Chase
et al. 2003, 2015; Willis 2017; Fay 2018). They are distributed throughout
the world except the hot desert and Antarctica (Kumar et al. 2007). India
represents a total of 1,256 orchids belonging to 155 genera of which 388
orchids are endemic to Western Ghats (Singh et al. 2019) and a total of 54
species belonging to 30 genera of orchids are reported from Eastern Ghats of
Andhra Pradesh (Venkaiah et al. 2020).
The genus Pelatantheria
Ridl. is an epiphytic or lithophytic
orchid distributed in Indo-Malesia region (Jalal et al. 2012; Govaerts et al. 2022). It is known to contain eight
species, viz., P. ctenoglossum Ridl., P. eakroensis Haager, P. rivesii (Guillaumin) Tang & F.T.Wang,
P. woonchengii P.O’Byrne,
P. scolopendrifolia (Makino) Aver., P. bicuspidata Tang & F.T.Wang,
P. insectifera (Rchb.f.)
Ridl., and P. cristata
(Ridl.) Ridl., which
are distributed throughout Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Japan,
Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, and western Malaysia (Jalal et
al. 2012; Govaerts et al. 2021). In India only
one species P. insectifera is reported from
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura, and Uttarakhand
(Jalal et al. 2012). But, so far it is not reported from Andhra Pradesh.
Materials and Methods
Field explorations were carried
out from August 2020 to December 2020 for the Department of Biotechnology (DBT)
and Department of Space (DOS) biodiversity project in RV Nagar and Sileru Forest Range in the Eastern Ghats region of Andhra
Pradesh. First and second authors found an interesting species of orchid in Sileru Forest Range. After critical examination at the
laboratory with dissection microscope, literature study (Jalal et al. 2012;
Singh et al. 2019), and consultation of type at K, it was identified as Pelatantheria insectifera
(Figure 1). Voucher specimen was deposited in Herbarium AUV, Department of
Botany, Andhra University (Image 2) and this species was also introduced into
the University Botanical Garden on the stem barks of Mangifera
indica L. and Melaleuca citrina
(Curtis) Dum. Cours. for further observations and
ex situ conservation practices. All the photographs were taken by Canon 500D,
photo plate was prepared by using CS6 Photoshop software and location map was
prepared by using Arc Map software.
Results
Pelatantheria insectifera (Rchb.f.)
Ridl., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 32: 373 (1896); Sarcanthus insectifer
Rchb.f., Bot. Zeitung (Berlin) 15: 159 (1857). (Image
1).
Type: Myanmar, Moulmein, Parish
267 (K000942423, digital image)
Specimen examined: India, Andhra Pradesh,
Visakhapatnam District, Sileru Range, 17.956 N;
82.046 E, 466 m, 11 November 2020, V. Ashok Kumar & P. Janaki
Rao 23358 (AUV).
Monopodial tufted epiphytic herb.
Stem scandent, stout, terete, up to 70 cm. Roots at nodes, vermiform, alternative,
ca. 40×3 mm, straw yellow. Leaves sessile, coriaceous, deeply channelled, ca.
6×2 cm, distichous, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, unequally bilobed apex, base
amplexicaul, sheathing the stem entire. Racemes axillary, ca. 2 cm long, 3‒5
flowered. Floral bract green, broadly triangular, obtuse, 2×2.2 mm; Pedicel ca.
8×1 mm, pale green at base and purple tinged at tip. Flowers small, ca. 1.8 cm.
Sepals 3, greenish-yellow and purple tinged, oblong-ovate or oblong-obovate,
3-veined, mid vain prominent, greenish yellow, acute or sub-acute, entire,
dorsal sepal ca. 5×3 mm, lateral sepals ca. 6×3.4 mm. Petals 3, one is modified
in to lip, lateral 2 are spreading, 3-nerved, mid vain prominent, oblong or
oblanceolate, truncate or obtuse, sub-acute, ca. 6×2.3 mm. Lip sessile ca.
1×0.8 cm, fleshy, 3 lobed, discoid at middle, magenta colour; lateral lobes
whitish yellow, magenta tinged, ca. 2×4 mm, incurved, lobulated or obscurely bilobulate. Middle lobe ca. 8×7 mm, magenta coloured,
porrect, cordate, truncate or rounded, mid vain discoid. Spur ca. 5x3 mm,
whitish yellow, compressed, conical, projected downwards, and hairy at mouth.
Column broad and stout, white, obovate, ca. 2x1.6 mm, with long stelidia, columnar processes long, slender, 2 horned,
stigma triangular ovate and closed to column arms. Pollinia 2, placed on a
broad viscidium, yellow, ca. 3×3 mm, subglobose.
Capsules clavate, ca. 2.2 cm long.
Flowering and fruiting: October–December
Habitat & Ecology: Scarcely found in the moist
deciduous forest of the study area as small nest-like clusters on tree trunks
of Mangifera indica
L., Terminalia alata Heyne
ex Roth, Schleichera oleosa
(Lour.) Merr. and Syzygium
cumini (L.) Skeels.
Habitat was dominated by trees such as Anogeissus
latifolia (Roxb.
ex DC.) Wall. ex Guillem. & Perr.,
Diospyros sylvatica Roxb., Haldina cordifolia
(Roxb.) Ridsdale, Nyctanthes arbor-tristis L., Polyalthia
cerasoides (Roxb.)
Bedd., Protium serratum
(Wall. ex Colebr.) Engl., Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb., Xylia xylocarpa (Roxb.) Taub. Apart
from trees, a few middle story vegetation like Barleria
cristata L., Clerodendrum
infortunatum L., Colebrookea
oppositifolia Sm., Lantana camara
L., climbers: Bauhinia vahlii Wight & Arn., Combretum ovalifolium Roxb., Dioscorea oppositifolia L., and understory vegetation such as Achyranthes bidentata Blume,
Adiantum lunulatum Burm.
f., Sida rhombifolia
L., Senna hirsuta (L.) H.S.Irwin
& Barne, Triumfetta
rhomboidea Jacq. were commonly seen in the
habitat of this orchid.
Distribution
Native to Himalaya and Indo-China
(Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam). In
India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka,
Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Tripura,
Uttarakhand, and West Bengal (Jalal et. al. 2012; Govaerts
et al. 2022).
Discussion
Occurrence of P. insectifera in Sileru Range
of Andhra Pradesh was not unexpected as it falls very near to the state border
with Odisha, where this species is known to exist and has similar forest type.
The present study observes that, several epiphytic orchids like Acampe ochracea (Lindl.) Hochr., Acampe praemorsa (Roxb.) Blatt. & Mc Cann, Dendrobium
aphyllum (Roxb.) C.E.C.Fisch., Luisia zeylanica Lindl., Oberonia ensiformis
(Sm.) Lindl., Rhynchostylis
retusa (L.) Blume, Vanda tessellata
(Roxb.) Hook. ex G.Don,
& Vanda testacea (Lindl.)
Rchb.f. and ground orchids like Goodyera
procera (Ker Gawl.)
Hook., Habenaria furcifera
Lindl., & Liparis
nervosa (Thunb.) Lindl.
were luxuriantly growing in the Sileru and R.V.Nagar forest ranges due to the suitable bioclimatic
conditions. There is a need for intensive explorations for orchid diversity in
this area.
For figure &
images - - click here for full PDF
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