Phytotaxa 255 (2): 167–171 http://www.mapress.com/j/pt/ Copyright © 2016 Magnolia Press

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PHYTOTAXA

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http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.255.2.6

Miliusa flaviviridis (Annonaceae), a new species from the southern Western Ghats, India NAVENDU V. PAGE1, MEENAKSHI POTI1 & Kaliamoorthy Ravikumar2

Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India: email: [email protected] Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions, Bangalore, 560064, India

1 2

Miliusa Leschenault ex A.DeCandolle (1832: 213) is characterized by a combination of floral characters such as sepaloid outer petals, densely hairy torus (receptacle), stamens with connectives not extending over the thecae and four-part lamellate ruminations of the endosperm (Chaowasku et al. 2013). Miliusa consists of ca. 50 species with four varieties, distributed from India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan to Australia through the Malayan islands, Philippines and Papua New Guinea (Mols & Keßler 2003). Chaowasku et al. (2013) included 27 species in their phylogenetic study and identified four well-supported clades, each characterized by a set of morphological characters. However, none of the species endemic to India was included in their study. Twenty species and one variety are reported from India (Turner 2015, Page &Nerlekar 2016), most of which are distributed in the wet forests of south India, northeastern India and the Andaman islands, whereas only two species are distributed across the dry forests of India. Six species, Miliusa wightiana Hooker & Thompson (1855: 149), M. nilagirica Beddome (1870: 18), M. tirunelvelica Murugan et al. (2004:102), M. wayanadica Sujanapal et al. (in Narayanan et al. 2010: 64), M. gokhalaei Ratheesh et al. (in Narayanan et al. 2012: 26) and M. malnadense Page & Nerlekar (2016: 79) are endemic to the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats. During the recent field survey carried out in the Agastyamalai Hill Ranges of the Western Ghats, we found an undescribed species of Miliusa that was morphologically distinct from its congeners from peninsular India with respect to the pedicel length, shape and color of the inner petals as well as shape of the carpel and stigma. It is therefore described here as a species new to science.

Taxonomy Miliusa flaviviridis N.V.Page, M. Poti & K. Ravikumar, sp. nov. (Figs. 1,2) Diagnosis: This species can be distinguished from the other peninsular Indian species based on its glabrous twigs, leaves and pedicels, long pedicel length, fringed calyx, recurved green inner petals, broader than long stamens, curved carpels and oblong, club-shaped stigma. Type:—INDIA. Tamil Nadu: Tirunelveli district, Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Thirukurungudi Range, Naraikadu, 900–1200 m, 22 February 2014 (with flowers and fruits), Page 104 (holotype: FRLH!; isotypes: JCB!, MH!)

Evergreen shrubs or small trees, 2–7 m high; branchlets terete, lenticellate, glabrous. Leaves simple, alternate, 5.5–8.0 × 1.8–3.0 cm, elliptic-lanceolate, glossy, green on both sides (in vivo), grayish green (ex cicco), glabrous; base cuneate; apex acute or slightly acuminate; petioles 0.3–0.4 cm, swollen; secondary nerves 10–12 pairs, loop-forming. Flowers solitary, axillary, pendulous, pedicel 1.2–1.3 × 0.5–1.0 mm, glabrous, slender, gradually thickening towards the flower; bracts 3, minute, triangular, margins fringed, 2 basal and 1 above them; sepals green, 3, free, each 1.5 × 0.7 mm, triangular, margins fringed; outer petals green, 3, free, 1.5–2.0 × 0.5 mm, ovate, concave, apex acute, margins minutely fringed; inner petals 3, ca. 1.0–1.2 × 0.4–0.5 cm, tightly appressed along margins at base, ovate, tips recurved, puberulous along margins and towards apex, apex sub-acute, base sub-saccate, abaxial surface yellowish white, with a longitudinal median groove, adaxial surface greenish yellow; torus hairy; stamens ca. 35, spirally arranged, broader than long, ca. 1 mm; anthers extrose; carpels 8–10, ovate, falcate, narrowing towards the transition between ovary and stigma; stigma club-shaped, oblong, narrow and curved at the base; monocarps 0.8–1.0 cm in diameter, globose; stipes 4–5 × 2–3 mm long, glabrous. Seed 1 (morphology not observed). Phenology:—Flowering and fruiting January–May. Etymology:—The specific epithet refers to yellowish green color of the inner petals.

Accepted by Mark Chase: 30 Mar. 2016; published: 7 Apr. 2016

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FIGURE 1. Miliusa flaviviridis A. Flowering twig. B. Abaxial side of a leaf. C. Mature flower. D. Inner petal (abaxial side). E. Outer petal (abaxial side). F. Outer petal (lateral). G. Sepal (abaxial side). H. Flower with petals removed. J. Carpel. K. Stamen. L. Monocarp. Illustration by Ashwini Mohan.

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FIGURE 2. Miliusa flaviviridis A. Branch with mature leaves. B. Abaxial side of a leaf. C. Open flower. D. Flower with an inner petal removed to show the arrangement of stamens and carpels. E. Monocarp. Photographs by Navendu Page.

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Distribution:—Miliusa flaviviridis is known only from two localities, Naraikadu and Kanikatti within the KalakadMundanthurai Tiger Reserve, which are part of Agasthyamalai Biosphere region of the southern Western Ghats. M. flaviviridis is likely to be a narrowly endemic species with its distribution range restricted to the Agasthyamalai region. It is not sympatric with any other species of Miliusa, although M. wightiana and M. tirunelvelica have also been recorded from other parts of Agasthyamalai hills. Interrelationships and critical notes:—Apart from the species described here, three other species of Miliusa recorded from the evergreen forests of peninsular India exhibit long pedicel lengths (> 1cm) and numerous spirally arranged stamens. The new species can be distinguished from these three species based on the characters summarized in Table 1. Miliusa flaviviridis and the morphologically similar species discussed above exhibit axillary flowers and inner petal margins that are tightly appressed from base to ± midpoint at anthesis. These morphological features are consistent with those of clade B identified by Chaowasku et al. (2013). These traits are also seen in other species of Miliusa distributed in the wet forests of the Western Ghats, which suggest that these species are likely to be related to the species of clade B in Chaowasku et al. (2013). Table 1. Diagnostic characters of M. flaviviridis and morphologically similar species. Characters Leaves and branches

M. flaviviridis glabrous

M. wightiana glabrous 9 pairs

M. tirunelvelica branches pilose, leaf margin ciliate 6–8 pairs

M. malnadensis pubescent, at least in the younger stages 8–9 pairs

Secondary nerves

11–14 pairs

Pedicel length

12–13 mm

15–25 mm

15–40 mm

25–30 mm

Sepals

triangular, glabrous, margins fringed

ovate, ciliate

elliptic, lanceolate, sparsely pubescent

triangular, ciliate

Inner petal color

yellowish green

pink

pink with white tinge

purple

Carpel shape

oblong

oblong, falcate

elongate

Carpel indumentation Stigma

ovate, falcate, narrowing towards stigma glabrous oblong, curved at the base

glabrous oblong

pubescent at base obconic

pubescent ovoid

Monocarps Stipe length

globose 4–5 mm

pisiform, oblong 8–12 mm

oblong 10–20 mm

globose 8–10 mm

Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Chennai, Tamil Nadu Forest Department for granting us research permits; Dr. V. Sundaresan and Mr. S. Gokul for their help during field collection; authorities of Donavur Fellowship for accommodation; Ashwini Mohan for illustrating the species. Special thanks to Lars Chatrou for his critical comments that greatly helped improve the overall quality of the manuscript.

References Beddome, R.H. (1870) Icones plantarum Indiae orientalis. Gantz, Madras, vii + 70 pp., 300 plates. Chaowasku, T., Keßler, P.J.A. & Chatrou, L.W. (2013) Phylogeny of Miliusa (Magnoliales: Annonaceae: Malmeoideae: Miliuseae), with descriptions of two new species from Malesia. European Journal of Taxonomy 54: 1–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2013.54 http://dx.doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2013.64 De Candolle, A.L.P.P. (1832) Mémoire sur la famille des Anonacées, et en particulier sur les espèces du pays des Birmans. Mémoires dela Société de Physique etd’Histoire Naturelle de Genève 5: 177–221. Hooker, J.D. & Thomson, T. (1855) Annonaceae. In: Flora Indica: being a systematic account of the plants of British India. Pamplin, London, pp. 87–153. http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.50109 Mols, J.B. & Keßler, P.J.A. (2003) Studies in the Miliuseae. V. Review of the taxonomic history of a polyphyletic ‘tribe’. Telopea 10: 113–124. http://dx.doi.org/10.7751/telopea20035610 Murugan, C., Manickam, V.S., Sundaresan, V. & Jothi, G.J. (2004) Miliusa tirunelvelica, a new species of Annonaceae from the Kalakkad-

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Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats, India. Novon 14: 102–104. Narayanan, M.K.R., Sujanapal, P., Anil Kumar, N., Sasidharan, N. & Sivadasan, M. (2010) Miliusa wayanadica (Annonaceae), a new species from Western Ghats, India. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 4: 63–67. Narayanan, M.K.R., Sujanapal, P., Anil Kumar, N., Sivadasan, M., Alfarhan A. H.& Thomas, J. (2012) Miliusa gokhalaei, a new species of Annonaceae from India with notes on interrelationships, population structure and conservation status. Phytotaxa 42 (1): 26–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.42.1.4 Page, N.V. & Nerlekar A.N. (2016) A new species of Miliusa (Annonaceae) from the Western Ghats of Karnataka, India. Phytotaxa 245 (1): 79–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.245.1.10 Turner, I.M. (2015) A conspectus of Indo-Burmese Annonaceae. Nordic Journal of Botany 33: 257–299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/njb.00689

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