Memecylon coorgensis S.S.Shrotri, T.U.Thackeray & N.V.Page, 2025

Memecylon coorgensis S.S.Shrotri, T.U.Thackeray & N.V.Page , sp. nov.

Memecylon coorgensis is morphologically most closely related to M. gracile with respect to its small shrubby habit, long acuminate leaf apex, and long-peduncled axillary inflorescence. Memecylon coorgensis differs from M. gracile in having up to 2 peduncles in the leaf axils (vs solitary peduncles), up to 5 secondary peduncles (vs secondary peduncles either absent or if present only 1 in number), 1–6(–8) flowers per inflorescence (vs 1–3 flowers per inflorescence), calyx deeply lobed with sepals acute or acuminate at apex (vs calyx shallowly lobed with sepals triangular-obtuse at apex), acuminate petals (vs petals obtuse), and berry 8–11 mm in diameter (vs berry 6 mm in diameter). – Type: India, Karnataka, Kodagu district, Kerti Reserved Forest, 12°06′17.6′′N, 75°46′11.3′′E,

500 m, 27 ix 2014, N. V.Page 103 ( holotype MH!, isotype JCB!). Figures 1 View Figure 1 and 2 View Figure 2 .

Shrub to 1.5 m tall; stem greyish brown, young branches terete, glabrous, green. Leaves opposite. Petioles canaliculate, 4–5 mm long, glabrous. Lamina ovate-lanceolate,

5–6.5 × 1.5–2.1 cm, coriaceous, glabrous, base cuneate, apex long acuminate, margin entire; secondary veins inconspicuous, 10–13 pairs, intramarginal veins not prominent. Inflorescence axillary, up to 6(–8)-flowered, lax, compound cymes; primary peduncles

1 or 2 per axil, 0.5–1 cm long, terete, secondary peduncles up to 5, terete with central peduncle up to 0.6 cm long and lateral peduncles successively shorter; tertiary peduncle when present, up to 0.25 cm long; bracts rarely present, few around the peduncle, ovate-lanceolate, glabrous; bracteoles ovate-lanceolate, glabrous, persistent, 0.9–1.1 mm. Flower buds obconic, 3.5–7 mm long, bluish white or light pink. Flowers bisexual, 6–8 mm across; pedicels terete, slender, 4–6 mm long; hypantho-calyx campanulate, 1.5–2 mm across, glabrous, bluish white or pink outside, white inside, disc rays inconspicuous; calyx 4-lobed, triangular, acute, c.1.5 × c. 1.5 mm at the base; petals 4, c.4 × 3 mm, ovate, acuminate, glabrous, basal part adaxially pink, middle and apical part adaxially blue, abaxially white throughout. Stamens 8, filaments slender, terete; anthers dorsifixed, 3–4 mm long, J-shaped; connective blue, with a centrally placed gland; pollen sacs anterior, white. Ovary inferior; style subulate, glabrous, pale blue, 2–3 mm long; stigma acute. Fruit a berry, globose, 0.9–1.1 cm across, with persistent style and calyx lobes, green when young, bluish black and often pendulous when mature.

Distribution. Recorded from three locations: Kerti Reserved Forest adjacent to Bramhagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Talakaveri Wildlife Sanctuary, and Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary. However, this species is likely to occur in the adjoining evergreen forests of the state of Kerala in the Kannur and Wayanad districts.

Habitat and ecology. Distributed in the mid-elevation ( 400–1100 m a.s.l.) evergreen forest of Kodagu district, Karnataka. The population in Kerti Reserved Forest is large, and this species is fairly common in the forest understorey between 400 and 600 m. The other populations observed in Talakaveri and Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuaries were much smaller, and only a handful of individuals were observed at an elevation between 900 and 1100 m. Individuals of this species were found to be flowering between November and December, and fruits were observed until April.

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the Coorg (Kodagu) district of the state of Karnataka, where the species is described from and hitherto geographically restricted to.

Proposed IUCN conservation category. The species is currently known from three locations. Following the IUCN guidelines, applying criterion B2, the area of occupancy (AOO) is estimated to be 12 km 2. Because the number of locations is below five, it meets condition a as well as the AOO threshold for the Endangered category. However, there is no evidence to infer continuing decline in range size or number of populations (condition b), nor any evidence to suggest extreme fluctuations in range size, number of locations, or number of mature individuals (condition c). Hence, the additional condition required to assign a species to one of the three Threatened categories is not met. This species is therefore provisionally assessed as Near Threatened until more information on its population and distribution range is documented.

Notes. Among the species of Memecylon distributed in peninsular India, 16 previously described species have inflorescence peduncles exceeding or equal to 0.5 cm long. Memecylon coorgensis is added to this group, because its peduncles reach up to 1 cm

long. The new species can be easily distinguished from 14 of the 16 long-peduncled species, in having fewer than 10 (1–6) flowers per inflorescence. Only two other species from the long-peduncled group have fewer flowers per inflorescence, namely Memecylon gracile (1–3 flowers) and Memecylon agastyamalaianum E.S.S.Kumar et al. (2–5 flowers). Differences in the morphological characters of the new species compared with its morphologically most closely related species, Memecylon gracile , are summarised in

Table 1. Major diagnostic characters for the 17 long-peduncled species from the Western Ghats, including the one described here, are presented in Table 2. Photographs highlighting the morphological characters of Memecylon gracile ( Figure 3 View Figure 3 ) are provided for comparison with those of the new species.

Additional specimens examined. Memecylon gracile : INDIA. Kerala ( Travancore ), without precise locality, accession number MH00002124 ( lectotype, MH) ; Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli district, Ambasamudram, Walaiyar Estate , 08°43′N, 77°14′E, 13 vii 1976, C. E. Ridsdale, accession number 12805 ( HIFP) GoogleMaps ; Tirunelveli district, 1985, R. H. Beddome , accession number BM000944525 ( BM) ; Tirunelveli district , 1 iii 1872, R. H. Beddome, accession number K00035781 ( K) .