Flemingia nilgheriensis (Baker) Wight ex T.Cooke

3. Flemingia nilgheriensis (Baker) Wight ex T.Cooke View in CoL — Fig. 8 View Fig , 9 View Fig

Flemingia nilgheriensis (Baker) Wight ex T. Cooke (1902) View in CoL 393.

Flemingia procumbens Wight (1846) View in CoL 9, nom.illeg., non Roxb. (1832) 338.

Flemingia vestita Benth. ex Baker var. nilgheriensis Baker (1876) View in CoL 230. — Maughania nilgheriensis (Baker) H.L. Li (1944) View in CoL 227. — Type: Wight (lecto E (E00157790),here designated;isolecto BM (BM001209605),E (E00157789)), India, Tamil Nadu, Nilgiri District, Pykara, s.d.

Etymology. The specific epithet ‘ nilgheriensis’ refers to the Nilgiri hills

(Nilgiri District), Tamil Nadu, where Pykara is the type location .

Decumbent herbs, 20–30 cm long with branched stem; roots tuberous, elongate, 2–3 in cluster, underground; stems 2–2.5 mm diam, terete, densely hairy with long brown, silky, antrorse hairs, gland-dotted. Leaves 2.5–4.5 cm long; stipules 2, 9–14 by 3–4 mm, ovate, acuminate, fused, splitting at maturity, basifixed, persistent, many-nerved, gland-dotted, densely hairy; hairs antrorse; petioles 0.7–1.5 cm long, densely hairy, gland-dotted; leaflets 1.5–3 by 0.7–1.6 cm, obovate to lanceolate, middle leaflet cuneate at base, lateral leaflets asymmetrical or oblique at base, densely hairy on both surfaces, abaxially gland-dotted, margin ciliate; glands orange-red; petiolules 1–2 mm long, pubescent. Inflorescences terminal heads, 12–25-flowered; peduncles 1–4 cm long. Flowers 1.1–1.2 cm long, pedicellate, bracteate; pedicel 1–1.5 mm long, hairy; bracts 8–12 by 2.5–4 mm, lanceolate, acuminate, persistent, many-nerved, gland-dotted, densely hairy; hairs antrorse. Calyx 9–10 mm long, hairy, gland-dotted on outer surface; hairs antrorse; calyx tube 2.5–3 mm long, campanulate, hairy, gland-dotted; calyx teeth 5, subequal, 6.5–7 by 1.5–2 mm, linear to lanceolate, acuminate, connate for 1/3 of its length, many-nerved. Corolla purple; standard 11–12 by 10–11 mm, obovate to round, retuse at apex, hairy, gland-dotted on outer surface, with claw and auricle, claw 2 mm long, auricled; auricles 2; wings 11–11.5 by 4–4.5 mm, oblong, pubescent, gland-dotted on outer surface, claw 3 mm long, auricles c. 1 mm long; keel petals 8–9 by 3–3.5 mm, slightly falcate, hairy, gland-dotted on outer surface, with claw and auricle, fused 1/2 of its length at lower side; claw 4 mm long, auricle less than 1 mm long. Stamens 10, diadelphous (9+1); staminal tube 5–5.5 by 1–1.5 mm; anthers uniform, less than 1 mm, basifixed; filaments of fused stamens 3–3.5 mm long, that of free stamen 7–8 mm long. Ovary 1.5–2 by 1–1.5 mm, sub-sessile, hairy, gland-dotted; ovules 2; style 7–8 mm long, glabrous, swollen at middle; stigma capitate, hairy. Fruit a pod, 11–12 by 4–5 mm, 1-seeded, included within calyx, beaked, turgid, glabrous; beak less than 1 mm long. Seeds 3 by 1.5 by 2 mm, black, ellipsoid, hilum less than 1 mm long, position ± central.

Flowering & Fruiting — September to October.

Distribution — Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu; endemic.

Habitat & Ecology — Flemingia nilgheriensis grows on hill slopes and plateaus of southern Western Ghats of Karnataka and Kerala. It occurs at an altitude of c. 800–1800 m asl. It grows in association with Arundinella spp. , Chlorophytum malabaricum Baker , Crotalaria nana Burm. f., Desmodiastrum racemosum (Benth.) A.Pramanik & Thoth. , Jansenella griffithiana (Müll.Hal.) Bor , Leucas stelligera Wall. , Pleocaulus ritchei (C.B.Clarke) Bremek. , Satyrium nepalense D.Don , Smithia blanda Wall. ex Wight & Arn. and Vigna vexillata (L.) A.Rich.

Additional specimens examined. INDIA, Concan, s.d. and month 1860, Stocks s.n. ( A, BM, C, OXF, P, US) . – Karnataka, Chikkamagaluru District, Baba Budangiri Hills , 12 Oct. 2016, Gavade 146 ( SUK) ; ibid., Oct. 1890, Talbot 2352 ( BSI) ; ibid., s.d., Talbot 3242 ( BSI) ; Hassan District, Vanagur , 4 Sept.1969, Saldanha 17836 ( JCB) ; Brahmagiri hills,without day Dec. 1907, without collector 103448 ( BSI) ; ibid., without collector s.n. ( BSI) ; Kodagu District, Dodda Abbey falls , 25 Oct. 1964, Raghavan 103914 ( BSI) . – Kerala, Alappuzha District, Kallumala , 6 Oct. 1997, Biju 36507 ( TBGT) ; Palakkad District, Kundipurha dam site, 6 Nov. 1976, Vajravelu 48862 ( CAL) ; Silent Valley National Park ,dam site, 18 Oct.1982, Sabu 10844 ( CALI) ; Trivandrum District, on the way to Poovar , 27 July 1998, Biju 38292 ( TBGT) . – Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore District, Anaimalai hills, s.d., without collector 15572 ( MH) ; Kolanar , 14 Nov. 1980, Chandrabose 57758 ( MH) ; Nilgiris District, Pykara , 28 Aug. 1970, Sharma 35860 ( MH) ; ibid., 14 Sept. 1918, without collector, s.n. ( MH) ; ibid., Sept. 1905, without collector s.n. ( MH) ; ibid., 18 Oct. 1981, Ansari 77714 ( CAL) ; ibid., Vajravelu 77714 ( MH) ; ibid., 18 Nov.1928, Mariana & Raju 18456 ( MH) ; ibid., Nov. 1883, without collector s.n. ( MH) ; Southern bank of Pykara river , 12 Sept. 1930, Narayanaswami 4263 ( MH) .

Taxonomic note — Flemingia nilgheriensis was considered a variety of F. vestita , i.e., F. vestita var. nilgheriensis by Baker (1876). Cooke (1902) restored it to the rank of species, and we agree.

Nomenclatural notes — Flemingia nilgheriensis was originally described by Wight (1846) as F. procumbens from Pykara, Nilgiri hills. This name was already used by Roxburgh for an altogether different plant. According to Cooke (1902), Wight realized his mistake and corrected the error and added the name F. neilgherrensis on a slip which is attached with the type specimen in K, but we have not been able to confirm the existence of this specimen. In search of the type specimens we could trace three specimens (two at E and one at BM). Among these three specimens, the specimen E00157790 is complete, bears 3–4 flowering twigs and matches well with the protologue. Therefore, this specimen is designated here as a lectotype. The duplicates of this specimen BM001209605 and E00157789 constitute isolectotypes.