Arisaema tylophorum C.E.C.Fisch., Bull. Misc. Inform., Kew 1933

Arisaema tylophorum C.E.C.Fisch., Bull. Misc. Inform., Kew 1933 View in CoL (7): 346. 1933; in Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 3(11): 1891. 1936; Chatterjee, Bull. Bot. Soc. Bengal 8: 137. 1955; Sivad. in Manoharan et al., Silent Valley-Whispers of reason 241. 1999.

Type: INDIA , Tamil Nadu, Nilgiris district, Thaishola , 1828 m, 16.06.1932, E. Barnes AR6 c ( K000950304 digital image!) .

A. barnesii auct . Gusman & L. Gusman, Arisaema ed. 2. 357. 2006, pro parte, non Fischer 193.

Fig. 28 View Figure 28

Deciduous, dioecious, perennial herbs, c. 30 cm tall. Subterranean stem a tuberous corm, globose, 1–2 cm diam.. Roots many, from the upper side of the corms, red. Cataphylls 3, apex rounded, innermost up to 13 cm long, mottled with brown, becoming chaffy. Leaf solitary, radiatisect; petiole 19–26 cm sheathing below the middle, light-green marbled with brown and pink; leaflets 5–7, petiolulate, elliptic-lanceolate to elliptic-oblanceolate, 5.3– 26 cm long, 1.6–9 cm wide, cuneate at base, acuminate or caudate-acuminate at apex, margin erose, dark-green above with a waxy lustre, bright green and very glossy below; petiolules 1–1.8 cm long. Inflorecence held below the leaf; peduncle slender, c. 18 cm long, coloured as the petiole. Spathe 5–7 cm long; tube of spathe cylindric or very narrowly funnel-shaped, 2.5–4.5 cm long, 1–1.2 cm wide at the mouth, white with vertical purple stripes within; limb ovate, slightly galeate, abruptly caudate, 1.5–2.5 cm long, bright-green, overarching, the filamentous tail 0.8–2 cm long, upcurved at the apex and terminated by a distinct small spherical or clavate knob. Female spadix 4.5–6.5 cm long; floriferous region 0.8–2 cm long; pistils ovoid, compactly arranged, sometimes lax with a few anthers between, green; ovules 4–6; style short; stigma minutely papillose; neuters a few, subulate, c. 0.5 cm long, rarely forked, green or white; appendix nearly cylindrical or slightly angled, slender, narrowed and curved near the apex, terminating in a distinct, minutely-warted knob. Male spadix similar to female, 4–5.5 cm long; floriferous region narrow conical, 1.2–1.7 cm long; male flowers laxly arranged, sessile, 2–4-androus; anthers purple, sessile, dehisce through an oblong pore, sometimes with few pistils below; neuters usually absent, sometimes few above the male flowers, subulate. Fruiting spike not seen.

Flowering: May–June.

Habitat: In wet shola forests and in cinchona plantations at an elevation above 1800 m.

Distribution: India (southern Western Ghats), endemic.

Specimens examined: INDIA , Tamil Nadu, Nilgiris district, Thiashola, near Carrington estate, c. 2185 m, 03.06.2019, Manudev & Arunkumar 144888, 144892 ( CALI!); Avalanche, way side, c. 2100 m, 04.06.2019, Manudev & Arunkumar 144893, 144894 ( CALI!) .

Notes: This species is one of the smallest species occurring in southern Western Ghats. Gusman and Gusman (2006) treated it as conspecific to A. barnesii C.E.C.Fisch. but it can be easily identified by its slightly galeate spathe limb with abruptly caudate apex terminating to a small knob. This species also similar to A. attenuatum C.E.C.Fisch. , in its shorter spathe limb with a whitish spot at the base and a slender spadix appendix but can be distinguished by the presence of a distinct knob at the tip of the caudate spathe limb and spadix appendix.

Conservation status: Arisaema tylophorum is very rare and collected from the wild only once after its description ( Sivadasan, 1999). Based on ‘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. tylophorum may be considered as ‘CRITICALLY ENDANGERED’ [CR: B1, B2a, b(iii)] according to IUCN’s guidelines (IUCN SPS, 2017).