Coix lacryma-jobi

Coix lacryma-jobi View in CoL L. var. puellarum (Balansa) E.G.Camus & A.Camus, Fl. Indo View in CoL Chine 7: 220. 1922. Coix puellarum Balansa, J. Bot. (Morot) View in CoL 4(4): 77. 1890. Lectotype (designated here): VIETNAM, Tonkin, vallee de Lankok (Mount Bavi), January 1887, B. Balansa 1693 (L [L0329790 digital image!]); isolecto (P [P00740696], K [K000290013 digital images!]) FigS. 1 View Fig & 2 View Fig

Tufted, rhizomatous perennials, rooting seldom at lower nodes. Culms up to 2 m high, terete to angled, upper branches compressed ventrally; nodes glabrous, blackish. Leaf sheath 3–12 cm long slightly compressed, glabrous. Ligule membranous, 1–1.5 mm long. Leaf blade 7–50 × 2–4 cm, linear-ovate to elliptic, mid-nerve prominent, glabrous to scabrid, margins scabrous, apex acuminate. Racemes 2–5 cm long (excluding peduncle), axillary, spiciform, exserted from flag leaf with stout peduncle; peduncles 3–7 cm long, glabrous, angled or compressed, tumid at apex; consisting of basal female spikelet through which extended rachis bears male spikelets above it. Male spikelets 2 or 3 in each node, elliptic, 7–10 × 2–3.5 mm, glabrous. Lower glume elliptic, 8–9.5 × 3–4 mm, membranous, glabrous, margins inflexed, 15–18-nerved, 2-keeled, keels winged, acute at apex. Upper glumes ovate, 8–9.5 × 2–3 mm, membranous, glabrous, margins inflexed, narrowly hyaline, 10–12-nerved, 1-keeled at back, acute at apex. Lower lemma narrowly ovate, 8–9 × 1.8–2.2 mm, membranous, glabrous, margins inflexed, 3-nerved, faintly 3-keeled, acute at apex. Lower palea narrowly elliptic, 7–8 × 1.8–2.2 mm, membranous, glabrous, margins inflexed, 2-nerved, faintly 2-keeled, acute to obtuse at apex. Lodicules 2, membranous, c. 0.5 mm long. Stamens 3; anthers 5–6 mm long. Upper lemma narrowly elliptic, 6.5–7.5 × 1–1.6 mm, hyaline, membranous, glabrous, margins inflexed, 3 nerved, acute to obtuse at apex. Upper palea narrowly elliptic, 6–7 × 1.0- 1.2 mm, hyaline, glabrous, margins inflexed, 3-nerved, acute to obtuse at apex. Lodicules 2, membranous, c. 0.5 mm long. Stamens 3; anthers 5–6 mm long. Female spikelets (utricle) globose to discoid, 5.5–7 × 7–8.5 mm, bony, whitish to bluish. Joints 5.5– 6.5 mm long, glabrous, hollow. Lower glumes globose-ovoid, 6–7 × 7–8 mm, membranous, glabrous, c. 10-nerved, margins inflexed, acute at apex. Upper glumes ovate, 6–7 × 5–6 mm, membranous, glabrous, faintly 5-nerved, 1-keeled at back, margins inflexed, acute at apex. Lower lemma globosely ovate, 5.5–6.5 × 3.5–4.5 mm, membranous, glabrous, 3-nerved, margins inflexed, acute at apex. Lower palea absent. Upper lemma globosely ovate, 5–6 × 4–5 mm, papery, glabrous, 3-nerved, margins inflexed, acute at apex. Upper palea ovate, 4.5–5 × 2.5–3.5, hyaline, 2-nerved, acute to acuminate at apex. Ovary globose, 2–3 × 3–4 mm, glabrous. Stigma plumose, bifid, 1–1.5 cm long.

Flowering & fruiting: August to January.

Habitat: Grows along streams and slopes in moist places in hilly regions, locally common.

Distribution: China, India, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

Etymology: Specific epithet “ puellarum ” = puella = girl. Little girls in East Asia make necklaces from the utricles (Clifford & Bostock, 2007).

Specimens examined: INDIA, Sikkim, Brip, 1905, Riba 1297 ( CAL); Indira bypass, Upper Sichey , N 27°20'4.84", E 88°36'46.21", 18.12.2021, N. A GoogleMaps . Madhav 495 ( BSI) . MYANMAR, Upper Burma, Myanmar Hill, Maymayo , November 1838, Badal Khan 271 ( CAL, K) . CHINA, Hubei ( Hupeh ), March 1889, Dr. Aug. Henry 71717 ( CAL) .

Notes: Coix lacryma-jobi var. puellarum can be easily identified from other varieties by its perennial habit and usually bluish-white, globose to discoid utricle (utricles wider without a beak).

Typification: Balansa described Coix puellarum in 1890 from French Indo-China in his catalogue of family Poaceae from the French Indo-Chinese region in which Tonkin in one province. Camus and Camus (1922) subsequently reduced this species as a variety of C. lacryma-jobi , as var. puellarum . Balansa ( l.c.), however, did not indicate any specimen number or particular location in the protologue. While searching the original material of Coix lacryma-jobi var. puellarum , we located specimens collected by Balansa having three sheets of single gatherings as well as annotations with his handwriting and accession no. 1693 at P, K and L (P00740696, K000290013, L0329790 digital images!). All these specimens were from the Tonkin region where Balansa worked. When they were compared with the protologue, all perfectly match with the original description and have a collection date prior to the publication of the flora of French Indo-China. Therefore, in accordance with Article 9.3 of ICN (Turland et al., 2018), one of the specimens with Balansa’s annotation from Tonkin, i.e., L0329790, is designated here as the lectotype as it has all the floral parts in comparison with the specimens deposited at P and K. Also, the other specimens are duplicates of the designated lectotype and therefore the specimens from P and K are isolectotypes.