Ceropegia nampyana Manudev, Kambale & Pramod, Int. J. Advanced Res.

Ceropegia nampyana Manudev, Kambale & Pramod, Int. J. Advanced Res. View in CoL 4(5): 1408. 2016. Type: INDIA, Kerala, Kozhikode district, 25 km from Kozhikode city, Nanminda , Pokkunnu , 13.09.2014, Manudev, Pramod & Prakash 138969 (holo CALI!; iso DEV!, SUK!). Fig. 56 View Fig

Perennial erect herbs. Rootstock tuberous; tubers 1.5–2 cm across, globose-discoid; roots fibrous. Stem c. 9–15 cm high, c. 3 mm across, terete, unbranched, pubescent. Lamina 4.5–10 × 0.8–1 cm, linear to elliptic-lanceolate, falcate, acute at apex, narrowed at base, glabrous, margins serrulate, strigose towards base; petioles 4–6 mm long, channeled above, glabrous. Flowers solitary, extra-axillary; peduncles 1.5–2 mm long, terete, glabrous; bracts solitary, 1.5–2 mm long, linear, glabrous; pedicels 0.8–1 cm long, terete, glabrous. Sepals 2.5–3.5 mm long, linear-subulate, glabrous. Corolla c. 3 cm long; tube c. 2 cm long, slightly curved, dilated at base, narrow at middle, funnel-shaped above, glabrous, pale green with purple bands at base, deep purple otherwise and deep purple within; lobes c. 1.3 cm long, shorter than the tube, twisted, acute, folded along the margins, connate at the tip with glandular trichomes along margins; trichomes clavate, purple and translucent; unicellular conical purple trichomes present within at the base of corolla lobes. Corona bi-seriate; outer of 5-bifid, lobes c. 0.5 mm, bowl-shaped, c. 1.2 × 2.5 mm, hairy along margins and within; inner erect, linear, c. 2.5 mm long, alternate with outer corona, whitish-cream. Pollinia yellow, attached to brown pollen carriers by short caudicles. Pollinarium c. 0.35 × 0.45 mm. Follicles in pairs, 6–7 × c. 0.3 cm, tapering towards apex, usually unequal, glabrous. Seeds c. 5 × 3 mm, ovate-oblong, comose; coma c. 2 cm long.

Flowering & fruiting: August–October.

Habitat: Grows along lateritic hills in association with Canscora pauciflora Dalzell , Crotalaria nana Burm.f. , Cyanotis burmanniana Wight , Eriocaulon eurypeplon Korn. , Gloriosa superba L., Ischaemum ciliare Retz. , Justicia japonica Thunb. , Murdannia semiteres (Dalzell) Santapau , Pogostemon quadrifolius (Benth.) F. Muell. and Polycarpaea corymbosa (L.) Lam.

Distribution: Hitherto known only from the type locality, Kerala, India.

Conservation status: Data Deficient [DD] ( Manudev et al., 2016).

Notes: Ceropegia nampyana is close to C. spiralis Wight but differs by having corolla lobes shorter than the tube, corolla tube glabrous within, hairy outer corona as opposed to corolla lobes as long as corolla tube, bulbous based conical trichomes present within tube, glabrous outer corona in C. spiralis . The unicellular glandular trichomes and clavate translucent trichomes on corolla lobes in these two taxa are unusual in the series Attenuatae .

Ceropegia noorjahaniae Ansari, J. View in CoL Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 69(1): 250. 1972; Ansari, Fasc. Fl. India 16: 26. 1984; M.P. Nayar & Sastry, Red Data Book Indian Pl. 2: 52. 1988; S.D. Deshp. et al., Fl. Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra 1: 361. 1993; A.P. Jagtap & N.P. Singh, Fasc. Fl. India 24: 233. 1999; D.K. Mishra & N.P. Singh, Endem. Threat. Pl. Maharashtra 142. 2001; A.P. Jagtap & Das Das in N.P. Singh et al., Fl. Maharashtra, Dicot. 2: 353. 2001; M.R. Almeida, Fl. Maharashtra 3 A: 235. 2001; F. Albers & Meve, Ill. Handb. Succ. Pl. Asclepiadaceae 92. 2002; Karthik. et al., Fl. Pl. India 1: 163. 2009; Kambale & S.R. Yadav, Asklepios 115: 36. 2013. Type: INDIA, Maharashtra, Satara district, Wai-Panchgani Ghat, 05.08.1970, M.Y. Ansari 104880A (holo CAL!; iso CAL!, BSI!, K, BLAT, L, MH, LE, MO; para BSI!) Fig. 57 View Fig

Perennial erect herbs, occasionally twining. Rootstock tuberous; tubers 1–3.5 cm in diam., depressed globose to discoid; roots fibrous. Stem slender, minutely pubescent when young, glabrous when mature, 12–100 cm long. Leaves sub-sessile-petiolate; lamina linear-lanceolate, 3.1–6.5 × 1.1–1.7 cm, pubescent above and along margins, glabrous beneath except for midnerve, dark green above, pale below; petioles 0.5–1.2 cm, channeled above, hairy along the margins, glabrous otherwise. Cymes 3-flowered, extra-axillary; peduncles 7–9 mm long, slender, glabrous; bracts solitary, c. 2.5 mm long, linear; pedicels 4–7 mm long, slender, glabrous. Sepals 2.5–3 mm long, subulate, glabrous. Corolla 1.7–2.2 cm long, tube 1.2–1.3 cm long, slightly curved, inflated at base, glabrous, pale green outside in lower 3/4 th part, pale to dark purplish brown in upper 1/4 th part up to the basal part of corolla lobes, green striated within, glabrous; lobes 7–9 mm long, linear, oblong, with acute apex and deltoid base, connate at the tips forming an ovoid cage, slightly reflexed all along the length, glabrous, greenish above, pale to dark purplish-brown near base. Corona bi-seriate, outer of 5-bifid or deeply emarginated, saucer to bowl-shaped, 2–3 mm long, ciliate along the margins, greenish-yellow, purple along the margins; inner of 5 erect lobes, c. 3 mm long, glabrous, deep purple at the base, straight at the tips. Follicles 5.5– 9 cm long, unequal, tapering towards both ends, glabrous. Seeds c. 3.5× 2.5 mm, ovate, marginate, comose; coma c. 2 cm long, silky white.

Flowering & fruiting: July–September.

Chromosome number: 2 n = 22 ( Gosavi et al., 2012).

Habitat: Grows in well drained soil amidst grasses along hill slopes of dry deciduous forests.

Distribution: Endemic to Maharashtra, India.

Specimens examined: INDIA, Maharashtra, Nanded district, Ambadi , 07.09.1979, B. R . Zate 922 ( BAMU!); Satara district, Amberi , s.d., S. P . Gaikwad 532; Kartikswami hills, 28.08.1989, S. R . Yadav 5914; Ibid. , 22.08.1999, H. S . Patil 3514; Ibid. , (grown in garden), 04.08.2013, S. S . Kambale SSK 58; Ibid. , 06.07.2014, S. S . Kambale SSK 237; Ibid. , 21.07.2004, M. Y . Kamble 2143; Khambataki Ghat , 15.08.2003, M. Y . Kamble 2129; Khindwadi , 10.1995, M. P . Bachulkar-Cholekar 5800; Pasarani Ghat , 02.09.2005, M. Y . Kamble 2177; Wai-Pasarani Ghat , 16.08.2011, S. S . Kambale SUK 2592 View Materials ( SUK!) .

Conservation status: Nayar and Sastry assessed it as Rare while Mishra and Singh (2001) considered it as Endangered. It is represented with very few individuals in its natural habitat. Habitat loss and food value of tuber are the major threats to the species. In present study, it is assessed as Critically Endangered [CR: B2 a, b (iii, iv)].

Notes: Ceropegia noorjahaniae is closely similar to C. fimbriifera and C. bhatii , but differs in having abruptly dilated corolla tube and ovoid cage of corolla lobes.