Sonerila veldkampiana Ratheesh, Mini & Sivadasan, 2013

Ratheesh Narayanan, M. K., Mini, V., Shaju, T., Sujana, K. A., Joseph, Jayesh P., Alfarhan, Ahmed H. & Sivadasan, M., 2013, A new species of Sonerila Roxb. (Melastomataceae) from Kerala, India, Phytotaxa 110 (1), pp. 55-60 : 56-59

Sonerila veldkampiana Ratheesh, Mini & Sivadasan , sp. nov., Figs. 1 & 2

Sonerila veldkampiana resembles S. rotundifolia , but differs in having pilose leaf-lamina, terete and glabrous peduncles, flowers 10-35 in branched or unbranched scorpioid cymes, obscurely ridged hypanthia, long acuminate anthers with a deeply cordate base, and seeds with a sub-excurrent raphe.

Type: — INDIA . Kerala: Wayanad District, Ambalavayal hills, Rocky grasslands, elev. ca. 900 m, 27 August 2011, Ratheesh Narayanan & Mini MSSH 1432 (holotype CAL!; isotypes MH!, TBGT!, CAbC-MSSRF Herbarium, Wayanad!) .

Scapigerous herbs, to 30 cm in height, reddish throughout, rhizome globose or ellipsoid, pinkish. Leaves 3–7; petiole 8–15 cm long, adaxially grooved, sparsely hairy, more towards the apical portion; lamina greenish above, light green or pinkish green below, coriaceous, ovate, broader than long, 4.5–6.0 × 5.0–7.0 cm, base deeply cordate, usually with overlapping margins, margins serrate, rarely dentate, apex acute or rarely obtuse or rounded, usually 12-nerved, 4 pairs arising from base and 2 pairs from midrib above, prominently raised below, dark pinkish or purplish, pilose on both sides, more on abaxial midrib and lateral veins. Inflorescence 1–3 (–5), branched or unbranched scorpioid cymes, each with 10–35 flowers; peduncle terete, equalling the length of leaves or longer, 12–30 cm long, dark pinkish or reddish, glabrous; bracts prominent, 1.8–2.0 mm long, pink, persistent until fruiting. Flowers with pedicel 4–6 mm long, glabrous, yellowish green, elongating in fruit; hypanthium 4–5 mm long, ca. 3 mm broad at the apex, funnel-shaped or campanulate, yellowish green with a pink tinge, glabrous, obscurely ridged; calyx lobes broadly triangular, 1–2 mm long, glabrous, apex acute; petals broadly obovate, 9–10 × 7–8 mm, 5-nerved, mucronate, glabrous, dark pinkish; stamens 3, filaments filiform, ca. 7 mm long, glabrous, pinkish, anthers broadly ovate-lanceolate, deeply cordate at the base, long acuminate at apex, yellow, glabrous, opening by apical pore; ovary glabrous, style 1.0– 1.1 cm long, apex deep pink, stigma subcapitate. Capsules campanulate, 4–5 mm long, obscurely ridged, glabrous, pinkish yellow, crowned by a broad margin; seeds broadly oblong, light yellowish, 0.8–1.0 mm long, with raised tubercles, raphe sub-excurrent.

Notes:— Sonerila veldkampiana is a quite remarkable scapigerous species resembling S. rotundifolia but the latter has glabrous leaves, angular peduncles with only 3–6 flowers at their apices, non-ridged hypanthia, anthers with distinctly truncate bases, and seeds with a non-excurrent raphe.

Flowering & Fruiting: —July–October

Etymology: —The epithet is proposed in honour of Dr. J. F. Veldkamp, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, National Herbarium of The Netherlands, Leiden University, in recognition of his valuable contributions to plant science.

Distribution, habitat and ecology: — Sonerila veldkampiana grows on wet rock crevices in secondary rocky grasslands at elevations ranging between 900–1000 m. It is known only from the Ambalavayal and Edakkal rocky hills of the Wayanad District, Kerala. Small populations of this species are seen on exposed wet rocks along with several grass species in the area during the south-west monsoon (July–October).

Additional specimen examined: — INDIA . Kerala: Wayanad District, Edakal Hills , elev. ca. 1000 m, 20 August 2012, Ratheesh Narayanan & Mini MSSH 2213 (CAbC-MSSRF Herbarium, Wayanad!) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Sonerila veldkampiana A. Habit. B. Flower bud. C. Flower. D. Stamen. E. Fruit. F. Seed. Drawings by Jayesh P. Joseph from living specimens.

FIGURE 2. Sonerila veldkampiana A. Habit. B. Single leaf – abaxial side. C. Part of inflorescence with fruits. D. Apical portion of inflorescence with bracts, flowers and flower buds. Photographs by M. K. Ratheesh Narayanan.