Arisaema translucens C.E.C.Fisch., Bull. Misc. Inf., Kew 1933

Arisaema translucens C.E.C.Fisch., Bull. Misc. Inf., Kew 1933 View in CoL (7): 344. 1933; in Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 3(11): 1891. 1936; Chatterjee, Bull. Bot.

Soc. Bengal 8: 136. 1955; Gusman & L.Gusman, Gen. Arisaema ed. 2. 409. 2006; Prabhukumar et al., Phytotaxa 306: 85. 2017. Type: INDIA , Tamil Nadu, Nilgiris district, Carrington Tea Estate, near Thia shola, 1820 m, E. Barnes AR.4 (K000499314 digital image!; iso MH!)

Deciduous, dioecious, perennial herbs, c. 35 cm tall. Subterranean stem a tuberous corm, subglobose, 1–5 cm. diam., white. Roots many from the upper side of the corm. Cataphylls 3, c. 9 cm long, rounded at apex, pinkish-purple, outermost becoming chaffy. Leaf solitary, radiatisect; petiole c. 35 cm. long, pinkish-purple with brown and pink markings or pink with brown and white markings; leaflets 9–11, sessile, narrowly elliptic-oblanceolate, 9–14 cm long, 1.7–3 cm wide, cuneate at base, finely acuminate, margins revolute, erose, dull velvety green above, slightly glossy below, midrib and numerous primary lateral nerves prominent below. Inflorescence held below the leaf; peduncle c. 20 cm long, slender, resembling the upper part of the petiole. Spathe c. 7 cm long; tube of spathe cylindric, slightly widened to the mouth, 3.5–4.3 cm long, 1–1.3 cm wide, green and purple with a few white stripes; limb cucullate, c. 2.5 cm. long, leaving a narrowly obcordate, opening from the apex of which depends a filiform tail 2.5–3 cm long with an upcurved tip, purple with broad translucent bands. Female spadix nearly cylindric, 4–5.4 cm long; floriferous region narrow, 1–1.5 cm long; pistils crowded, subglobose, 1.5–2 mm diam.; style very short; stigma minutely papillose; ovules 4; neuters a few, scattered, subulate, c. 5 mm long, rarely with an aborted anther at the tip; appendix narrowly clavate, slightly narrowed and rounded at the apex, green with faint purple stripes, the apical quarter white. Male spadix similar to female, slender; floriferous region narrow, c. 2 cm long; male flowers scattered, shortly stipitate, 2–6-androus; anthers purple, dehisce by an elliptic pore; neuters absent. Fruiting spike not seen.

Flowering: June.

Habitat: In grasslands, under pine woods at an elevation above 1300 m above sea level.

Distribution: India (southern Western Ghats), endemic.

Specimens examined: INDIA , Tamil Nadu. Nilgiris district, Pykara, under shade, 05.1889, J.S. Gamble

20514 ( CAL!); Thaishola, beyond Carrington estate, towards Kakamalai, 10.06.1933, E . Barnes 333 ( MH!); ibid., Kakkamalai, 10.06.1933, E . Barnes 336 (MH!).

Notes: Fischer (1933) described this narrow endemic species from the collections of Barnes from Nilgiris , Tamil Nadu. Closest ally of this taxon is A. agasthyanum , another narrow endemic species from southern Western Ghats. Both species are smaller in size and a purple, cucullate or almost galeate spathe limb with translucent–whitish bands are peculiar in this species. Recently Prabhu Kumar et al. (2017) rediscovered this taxon from its type locality .

Arisaema tuberculatum C.E.C.Fisch., Bull. Misc. Inform., Kew 1935 View in CoL (1): 66. 1935; in Gamble, Fl. Madras 3(11): 1890. 1935; Chatterjee, Bull. Bot. Soc. Bengal 8: 137. 1955; Sivad. in Manoharan et al., Silent Valley-Whispers of Reason 236. 1999; V.S.Ramach. & Paulraj, J. Bomabay Nat. Hist. Soc. 105(2): 228. 2008; Gusman & L.Gusman, Gen. Arisaema View in CoL , ed. 2. 398. 2006; Prabhukumar et al., Phytotaxa 306: 89. 2017 View Cited Treatment . Arisaema convolutum C.E.C.Fisch., Bull. Misc. Inform., Kew 1934 View in CoL (4): 167. 1934, non Nakai 1929. Type: INDIA View in CoL , Tamil Nadu, Nilgiris district, Pennant Shola, Parson’s Valley, 2133–2286 m (7000–7500 ft), May-June, E. Barnes AR7(a-h) (K digital images!). Fig. 27 View Figure 27

Deciduous, dioecious, succulent, perennial herbs, up to 95 cm tall. Subterranean stem a tuberous corm, depressed globose to subglobose, 2–5.4 cm diam., 1–3.5 cm tall, cream-white or brownish, offsets often present in mature corms, a few, surrounding the pseudostem. Roots many, pale brown to rose, from the upper side of the corm. Cataphylls 3 or 4, acute or obtuse at apex, mucronate; outer c. 2.5–7.5 cm long, pale to white often blushed with rose; middle 5.5–15 cm long, pale brown to pale rose, faintly mottled; inner 16–30 cm long, enclosing the pseudostem, pale rose, pale to dark brown, faintly mottled, sometimes cylindric below; often an outer pale-hyaline cataphyll c. 1–3 cm long also seen. Leaf solitary, radiatisect, usually unfolds completely before the emergence of inflorescence or together; petiole 38–95 cm long, 0.5–1.5 cm thick, pale green to greenish white above, rose to brown tinged below, not mottled; leaflets 5–8, sessile, elliptic-oblanceolate, 15.5–28.5 cm long, 3–6.8 cm wide, long-acuminate, margins entire, often wavy or undulate, dark green above, pale below. Pseudostem 13.5–29 cm long, 1.5–2.5 cm thick, wrapped by cataphylls, pale to dark green. Inflorescence matures before the emergence of leaf in male plants often over and decomposing by the time leaf has fully expanded; peduncle 29–63 cm long, light green, pale green, not mottled, exserted by 13–15.5 cm long from the pseudostem. Spathe 16–24.5 cm long; tube of spathe cylindric, funnel-shaped towards the mouth, 6–8.5 cm long, 1.5–2 cm wide, pale-green to green, or pale-purple with white-pale stripes along the veins; margins of the mouth slightly dilated to a revolute auricular extension; limb ovate-lanceolate, 10–16 cm long, 3.3–5.2 cm wide, acuminate with a long tail, 5–9 cm long, green, purple to dark brown all over with white to pale greenish white stripes along the veins, arched over and drooping. Female spadix sessile, c. 10 cm long, 0.3–0.4 cm thick; fertile region 2–4 cm long, followed by a few neuters; pistils many, sessile, globose, compactly arranged, sometimes angled owing to the compact arrangement, green; ovules 3–5, white; style short; stigma papillate, stellate, peltate; neuters subulate, a few, 0.5–1.5 cm long, scattered, upcurved, green; appendix decidedly stipitate with a slight thickening at the base after neuters, unevenly angled, reaching the mouth of the tube or just exceeding, slender and gradually tapering, green to light green, apex blunt-truncate, subcapitate-capitate and purplish-dark brown. Male spadix sessile, similar to female, c. 4.5 cm long, 0.3–0.4 cm thick; fertile region narrow, c. 1.6 cm long; male flowers scattered over or crowded at the base and distant above, sessile or shortly stipitate, 2–4-androus; anthers sessile, purple, dehisce by an apical pore; neuters usually absent or very few, as small protruberance. Fruiting spike not seen.

Flowering: May–June.

Habitat: In evergreen forests, growing in leaf mould, also on horizontal branches, in forks and on the roots of trees.

Distribution: India (southern Western Ghats), endemic.

Specimens examined: INDIA , Tamil Nadu, Nilgiris district, Pennant Shola, Parson’s Valley , 20.05.1933, E . Barnes 677 ( MH!). Kerala, Palakkad district, Sispara , Silent Valley National park , c. 2250 m, 09.03.2016, Robi Jose 22335 ( KFRI) .

Notes: This species is closely allied to A. leschenaultii but can be distinguished by long-caudate spathe limb and spadix appendix with a convolute apex.

Conservation status: Arisaema tuberculatum is endemic to Tamil Nadu. The species is very rare and collected from the wild only once after its description (Ramachandran & Paulraj, 2008). This species has been spotted recently from Sispara in Silent Valley ( Palakkad district of Kerala) with an unusual flowering period. However these two collections are from localities within 100 km diameter from the type locality. Based on the

‘Extent of Occurrence’ (EOO<100 km 2; Criterion B1) and ‘Area of Occupancy’ [Criterion B2: AOO<10 km 2 with number of location = 1 (sub-criterion ‘a’), projected decline in area and extent and/or quality of habitat [sub-criterion ‘b (iii)’], A. tuberculatum may be considered as ‘CRITICALLY ENDANGERED’ [CR: B1, B2a, b(iii)] according to IUCN’s guidelines (IUCN SPS, 2017).