Ceropegia kachinensis Prain, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt.

Ceropegia kachinensis Prain, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. View in CoL 2, Nat. Hist. 69(2): 170. 1900; H. Huber, Mem. Soc. Brot. 12: 50. 1957; Ansari, Fasc. Fl. India 16: 19. 1984; A.P. Jagtap & N.P. Singh, Fasc. Fl. India 24: 227. 1999; Karthik. et al., Fl. Pl. India 1: 162. 2009. Lectotype (designated by Singh, 2015): MYANMAR, Upper Burma , Kachin Hills, Myitkyina, 11.1897, Shaik Mokim s.n. ( K000857821 image!; isolectotype CAL0000018016 About CAL !, DD!, M0175137 image!, Z000001595 image!).

C. farrokhii McCann, J. View in CoL Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 45: 210. 1945. Type: MYANMAR, Upper Burma, Kachin Hills, Myitkyina (grown in Royal Botanic Garden, Kolkata), 11.1902, Shaik Mokim s.n. ( CAL0000018015 About CAL !; iso CAL0000018014 About CAL !).

Perennial, extensively twining herbs. Rootstock with globose tuber. Lamina 2.2–12 × 0.4–5 cm, ovate-lanceolate or elliptic, rounded at base, acute at apex, glabrous on both surfaces, membranous, deep green above, pale beneath; petioles 0.6–2 cm long, glabrous. Cymes 5–12-flowered, extra-axillary; peduncles 2–2.5 cm long, glabrous; pedicels 1.2– 1.5 cm long, slender, glabrous. Sepals c. 2–5.2 mm long, subulate, glabrous, with pinkish tinge at the tip. Corolla 3–3.2 cm long; tube 1.5–2.5 cm long, dilated at the base, slightly curved, narrow at middle, funnel-shaped at throat, externally pale yellowish green with striated purple on lower 2/3 rd part, faint purple spots on upper 1/3 rd part, purple within with deep purple dark windows at lower 2/3 rd part, bright green at lower and pale yellow in upper-half; lobes c. 5 mm long, oblong, shorter than tube, ciliate along margins with purple hairs at upper 1/3 rd part. Corona bi-seriate; outer of 5 dentate, ciliate reddish-purple lobes; inner of 5 erect linear-clavate lobes. Follicles 8–10 cm long, variously blotted with pale purple streaks. Seeds c. 10 × 4 mm, ovate, compressed.

Flowering & fruiting: October–November.

Habitat: Found growing in shady places in forests.

Distribution: India (Sikkim), Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Specimen examined: INDIA, Sikkim, s.loc., s.d., King s.n. ( CAL!) .

Conservation status: This species has not been collected after type collection and is poorly represented in Indian herbaria . In the present study authors could trace only four specimens two at CAL , one at K and one at Z. It is here assessed as Data Deficient (DD).

Notes: It is close to C. thwaitesii but differs in having smaller flowers. Prain (1900) described C. kachinensis based on Shaikh Mokim’s specimens. In the protologue, Prain mentioned the locality as Kachin Hills, Myitkyina. Huber (1957) and Ansari (1984) cited “Typus: CAL (Holotypus)”. Since there are 4 specimens at CAL each with a different date, neither the designation of type by Huber or Ansari can be considered a valid lectotypification. However, Singh (2015) selected a specimen from Kew (K000857821) as the lectotype as it agrees with the protologue.

Ceropegia longifolia Wall., Pl. Asiat. Rar. View in CoL 1: 56, t. 73. 1830; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 4: 72. 1883; H.J. Chowdhery in H.J. Chowdhery & Wadhwa, Fl. Himachal Pradesh 461. 1984; Ansari, Fasc. Fl. India 16: 20. 1984; A.P. Jagtap & N.P. Singh, Fasc. Fl. India 24: 228. 1999; F. Albers & Meve, Ill. Handb. Succ. Pl. Asclepiadaceae 87. 2002; G.S. Giri et al., Mat. Fl. Arunachal Pradesh 2: 164. 2008; Karthik. et al., Fl. Pl. India 1: 162. 2009. Lectotype (designated by Huber, 1957): NEPAL, s. loc., s.d., N. Wallich 11 ( K001129051 image!; syntype E00288765 image!).

C. lanceolata Wight & Arn., Contr. Bot. View in CoL India 31. 1834. Lectotype (designated by Singh, 2015: 158): NEPAL, s. loc., s.d., N. Wallich, Ascl. n. 12 ( K000857830 image!).

C. borii Raizada View in CoL , Indian Forest Rec., Bot. 3: 121. 1941; Babu, Herbac. Fl. Dehra Dun 305. 1977. Syntype: INDIA, Uttarakhand, Mohand pass, s.d., Raizada & Champion s.n. (DD).

Perennial twining herbs with fascicled roots. Stem slender, puberulous, branched. Lamina 5.7–20.3 × 0.4–3.8 cm, elliptic, lanceolate or linear, acute at apex, rounded at base, puberulous, ciliate along margins, glabrous beneath; petioles 5–8 mm long, slender. Cymes umbellate, 5–12-flowered, extra-axillary; peduncles 1.8–4 cm long, puberulous. Flowers whitish-green to yellowish-green; pedicels 0.5–1.2 cm long, terete, puberulous. Sepals c. 1.2 cm long, linear-subulate, puberulous. Corolla 1.6–3.8 cm long; tube 0.5– 2.5 cm long, curved, dilated at base, funnel-shaped at throat, hairy within at dilated part; lobes 0.5–1 cm long, elliptic-oblong to broadly ovate, reflexed, connate at the tip forming ovoid cage, hairy within, greenish-yellow, blotched purple. Corona bi-seriate; outer of 5 deeply bifid-deltoid lobes, ciliate along margins and within, yellow at base, purple at margins; inner of 5 erect, linear sub-spathulate lobes. Follicles 12.5–15.2 cm long, slender. Seeds c. 8 mm long, ovate, marginate, comose; coma silky white.

Key to the subspecies

1. Corolla lobes broadly ovate, c. 1 cm long .................................................. subsp. longifolia View in CoL

1. Corolla lobes oblong to linear, rarely ovate, c. 2.5 cm long ................................. subsp. sinensis View in CoL