Ischaemum sayajiraoi, a new species of Poaceae from Gujarat, India

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Ischaemum sayajiraoi, a new species of Poaceae from Gujarat, India Vinay M. Raole1, Rinku J. Desai1 & J. F. Veldkamp2

Summary. A new species of Ischaemum, I. sayajiraoi Raole & R. J. Desai (Poaceae) is described and illustrated from Gujarat state, western India. A detailed morphological description and line drawing of the new species are provided. Key Words. bipartite ligule, grass, pseudopetiole, taxonomy, winged lower palea.

Introduction Ischaemum L. (Poaceae), a tropical genus of about 82 species of worldwide distribution (Clayton et al. 2006), is represented in India by 51 species according to Ansari et al. (1984); Sreekumar et al. (1985); Karthikeyan et al. (1989); Ravi et al. (1998, 2000, 2001); Sur (2001); Gad & Janarthanam (2007). Cooke (1908) described 12 species for the Bombay Presidency of which nine are still included in Ischaemum, with the remaining three placed in either Sehima Forssk. or Triplopogon Bor. For Maharashtra state, Lakshminarasimhan (1996) reported 24 species, of which 14 for Kolhapur District were reported by Yadav & Sardesai (2003). For Gujarat State, Shah (1978) and Bole & Pathak (1988) reported 10 species. During an extensive field survey of the grasses of the Vadodara District, Gujarat State, the first author collected material of a taxon that did not match any available description. It is described and illustrated below as a new species. Taxonomy Ischaemum sayajiraoi Raole & R. J. Desai sp. nov. Ischaemo rugoso similis, vaginis pubescentibus, petiolis 2 mm longis, ligulis bipartitis, laminis 25 – 50 cm longis 1.5 – 2 cm latis, racemis 10 – 15 cm longis, spiculis sessilibus glumis inferioribus cristis transversalibus 5 – 8 laevibus, superioribus bipartitis, lemmate inferiore lateraliter alato 3-nervato, palea inferiore infra apicem ala hyalina, lemma superiore sinus margine serrato, arista usque ad 18 mm longa vel plus, spiculis pedicellatis lemmate inferiore lateraliter alato 3-nervato, palea inferiore infra apicem ala hyalina, lemmate superiore apice parum

inciso 2-nervato ciliato. Typus: India, Gujarat, Vadodara distr., Bacrol, 22°15'30.56"N 73°19'18.17"E, 3 Oct. 2008, R. J. Desai 32 (holotypus BARO; isotypus K). http://www.ipni.org/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77113074-1 Annual. Culms tufted or creeping and rooting below, 50 – 150 cm tall, leafy, compressed; nodes glabrous, uppermost pubescent; internodes ribbed, compressed, 10 – 20 cm long. Leaf sheath compressed, loose, 10 – 20 cm long, sparsely hairy, hairs deciduous; auricles membranous, confluent with the ligule; ligule membranous, 0.5 – 1 cm long, 2-partite; pseudopetioles 2 mm long, blades linear-lanceolate, glabrous, flat, acuminate, margin scabrid, with a distinct white coloured midrib, 25 – 50 × 1.5 – 2 cm; the uppermost leaves often reduced to a lanceolate spathe partially enclosing the base of the racemes, spatheole 5 – 10 × 0.4 – 0.8 cm long. Inflorescences terminal and axillary, axis 10 – 20 cm long; erect, pale yellow, 10 – 15 cm long; rachis trigonous, ciliate on the dorsal angle. Spikelets reaching 7 mm, linear-oblong, pedicel of the pedicellate spikelet less than ⅓ the length of the sessile one. Sessile spikelets elliptic, up to 7 mm long including 0.5 – 0.75 mm long ciliate callus. Lower glume cartilaginous for ⅔ of its length from base, pale yellow, shiny, concave, crossed by 5 – 8 smooth ridges, the upper ⅓ flattened, thinner, membranous, obtuse, with green veins, 7 – 12-nerved, margin narrowly incurved and winged, 6.5 – 6.8 × 3 – 3.2 mm. Upper glume oblong-lanceolate, 2-partite at maturity, keeled, keel with a narrow ciliolate wing below the apex, rigid, 6 – 6.2 × 3 – 3.2 mm. Lower lemma ovate-

Accepted for publication July 2011. 1 Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, 390002 Gujarat, India. e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] 2 Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity Naturalis, National Herbarium of The Netherlands, Leiden University, PO Box 9514, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands. e-mail: [email protected]

© The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2011

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lanceolate, acuminate, hyaline, ciliate, 3-nerved, 6 – 6.2 × 2 – 2.2 mm, male. Lower palea hyaline, lanceolate, expanded by hyaline wing below the tip,

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glabrous, 6 – 6.2 × 2 – 2.2 mm. Upper lemma deeply cleft into 2, acute, lanceolate lobes, margin serrate, hyaline, keeled, 4 – 4.2 × 1.5 – 1.8 mm, bisexual, awn

Fig. 1. Ischaemum sayajiraoi A habit; B1 ligule; B2 pseudopetiole; C portion of racemce; D1 sessile and pedicellate spikelet (dorsal view); D2 sessile and pedicellate spikelet with rachide (ventral view); E sessile spikelet: E1 lower glume; E2 upper glume; E3 lower lemma; E4 lower palea with stamens; E5 upper lemma; E6 upper palea; E7 gynoecium with lodicules and stamens; E8 caryopsis (dorsal and ventral view); F pedicellate spikelet: F1 lower glume; F2 upper glume; F3 lower lemma; F4 lower palea with stamens; F5 upper lemma; F6 upper palea; F7 gynoecium with lodicules and stamens; F8 caryopsis (dorsal and ventral view). All from R. J. Desai 32. DRAWN BY R. J. DESAI.


ISCHAEMUM SAYAJIRAOI, A NEW SPECIES OF POACEAE FROM GUJARAT, INDIA

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Table 1. Morphological comparison between Ischaemum sayajiraoi and I. rugosum. Character

Ischaemum sayajiraoi Raole & R. J. Desai sp. nov.

Ischaemum rugosum Salisb.*

Leaf sheath Leaf blade Ligule Raceme

hairy pseudopetiole 2 mm long; 25 – 50 × 1.5 – 2 cm 2-partite, membranous 10 – 15 cm long

glabrous sessile, 10 – 15 × 0.4 – 1.3 cm collar-shaped, entire 2.5 – 7.5 cm long

Sessile spikelet Lower glume Upper glume Lower lemma Lower palea Upper lemma

crossed by 5 – 8 smooth ridges 2-partite 3-nerved, laterally winged with hyaline wing below the tip margin of the cleft serrate

crossed by 3 – 6 smooth ridges entire nerveless, wings absent wings not seen margin of the cleft entire

Pedicellate spikelet Lower lemma Lower palea Upper lemma

3-nerved, laterally winged with hyaline wing below the tip slightly notched at the apex, 2-nerved, ciliate

nerveless, wings absent wings not seen apex acuminate, nerveless, glabrous

* The characters of Ischaemum rugosum Salisb. for the comparison were taken from Bor (1960); Clayton & Renvoize (1986), Cooke (1908), Shah (1978), Sun & Phillips (2006).

reaching up to 18 mm long or more, bent, twisted, scabrid or with papillae-like projections. Upper palea lanceolate with a broad base, hyaline, obtuse, scabrid-glabrous, 5 – 5.2 × 2 – 2.2 mm; stamens 3, anthers 3.0 mm long, stigmas dark purple 2 – 2.5 mm long; caryopsis oblong, dorsally compressed, ventral groove absent, glabrous, shining, hilum basal and embryo reaching to the middle of the grain, pale white-brown, 2.5 – 3 × 1 mm. Pedicellate spikelets shorter than the sessile, up to 6 – 6.5 mm long, obliquely ovoid, rachis pedicel-like, 1 mm long, thick, clavate, angular, confluent with the bristly thick callus. Lower glume linear, but upper half expanded obliquely by a broad wing below the tip, ciliate, margin incurved by a laterally expanded wing, pale greenish yellow, lower cartilaginous portion with 3 – 5 transverse ridges, 9 – 12-nerved, 6 – 6.2 × 2.5 – 2.8 mm. Upper glume ovate-lanceolate, 1-nerved, ciliate in nerve, 2-partite, 6 – 6.2 × 2 – 2.2 mm. Lower lemma ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, hyaline, ciliate, 3-nerved, 6 – 6.2 × 2 – 2.2 mm, male. Lower palea hyaline, lanceolate, expanded by hyaline wing below the tip, glabrous, 6 – 6.2 × 2 – 2.2 mm. Upper lemma oblong, slightly notched at the apex, 2-nerved, scabrid, ciliate, hyaline, 6 – 6.2 × 2 – 2.2 mm, male. Upper palea lanceolate with broad base, hyaline, obtuse, scabrid to glabrous, 5 – 5.2 × 2 – 2.2 mm. Stamens 3, anthers 2.5 mm long. Ovary 1 mm long, style 1.5 mm long, stigma 2 – 2.5 mm long, dark purple. Caryopsis lanceolate, dorsally compressed, ventral groove absent, glabrous, hilum basal and embryo reaching to the middle of the grain, reddish, 2.2 – 2.5 × 0.5 mm. Fig. 1. DISTRIBUTION. Western India.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED. INDIA. Gujarat: Vadodara distr., Bacrol, 3 Oct. 2008, R. J. Desai 32 (holotype BARO; isotype K); Vadodara, R. J. Desai 33 (BARO); Vadodara distr., Bhayli, 22°16'34.40"N 73°07'67.81"E, 9 Sept. 2009, R. J. Desai 103 (BARO, L). HABITAT. The species is a component of monsoon herbaceous vegetation of the Vadodara district. It receives 60 – 80 cm rainfall per annum, mostly during June – September. Here it is locally common on the edges of agricultural fields, seasonal wetlands and roadsides as a part of the natural vegetation. Common associates include Oryza spp., Echinochloa colona Link, Eriochloa ramosa Kuntze and Nymphaea nouchali Burm. f. CONSERVATION STATUS. Data Deficient (DD) following IUCN (2001) criteria. This species was collected from two localities where it was growing in small populations. More data regarding the populations are needed. PHENOLOGY. Flowering and fruiting September – December. ETYMOLOGY. The specific epithet sayajiraoi is in honour of the ‘Maharaja’ of Vadodara state and founder of Baroda College. NOTES. Ischaemum sayajiraoi is similar to I. rugosum Salisb. but differs from the latter by the characters given in Table 1. Diagnostic differences are the size and structure of the leaves and ligule, the structure of the glumes and the palea and the size of the raceme (Fig. 1, Table 1).

Acknowledgements We thank Prof. Arun Arya, Head, Department of Botany, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara for providing the necessary laboratory facilities during this work.


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