Ceropegia mannarana P. Umam. & P. Daniel, Fl. Gulf Mannar

Ceropegia mannarana P. Umam. & P. Daniel, Fl. Gulf Mannar View in CoL South. India 262. 2001. Type: INDIA, Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli district, Gulf of Mannar

coast, Uvari, 18.11.1995, S. A . Muthukumar 106332 (holo CAL!; iso MH!).

Perennial twining herbs. Stem sparsely hairy. Lamina 0.6–5.3 × 0.3–2.6 cm, elliptic-oblong to ovate, acute-cuspidate at apex, cuneate at base, ciliate along margins and beneath, petioles 1–2 cm long, channeled above, pilose. Cymes umbellate, 3–10-flowered, extra-axillary; peduncles 2–4 cm long, glabrous; pedicels 3–10 mm long, glabrous, rarely hairy. Sepals 2–3 mm long, linear, pubescent. Corolla 1.7–2.1 cm long, pale purplish violet; tube 1–1.4 cm long, straight, dilated at the base, hairy within at the throat; lobes 3–7 mm long, oblong, abruptly acute, connate at the tip, free at maturity, glabrous outside, hairy within at tip. Corona bi-seriate; outer of 5-bifid ciliate lobes, c. 2 × 3 mm; inner of 5 erect, spathulate lobes, c. 3 mm long. Pollinarium c. 0.2 × 0.2 mm. Follicles c. 9 cm long, linear, green with purplish dots.

Flowering & fruiting: October–December.

Habitat: Grows in sandy soil, in association with Euphorbia antiquorum L.

Distribution: Endemic to Tamil Nadu, India.

Specimen examined: INDIA, Tamil Nadu, Gulf of Mannar Coast, Kanyakumari, Vivekanantha Kendra Campus , 21.11.1995, S. A . Muthukumar 106398 (paratype MH!)

Conservation status: It is known from only one locality and is assessed as Data Deficient (DD).

Notes: Ceropegia mannarana closely resembles to C. candelabrum . Bruyns et al. (2017) merged this species under the latter. However, it differs from it in having hirsute habit and corolla lobes being oblong and glabrous outside at apex. Hence, it is treated here as a distinct species.