Portulaca badamica S.R.Yadav & Dalavi (2018: 376)

Dalavi, Jagdish Vishnu, Tamboli, Asif, Pujar, Ramesh, Saliyavar, Basavaraj & Yadav, Shrirang, 2024, Reinstatement of Portulaca badamica from P. tuberosa with critical notes on variation in P. tuberosa, Phytotaxa 671 (3), pp. 293-300 : 295-296

Portulaca badamica S.R.Yadav & Dalavi (2018: 376) ( Fig. 1B and Fig. 2A–K ).

Type:— INDIA, Karnataka, Bagalkot District, Badami, 613 m a.s.l., 15.918394 N, 75.703487 E, 14 June 2018, Yadav, Dalavi & Deshmukh JVD-1250 (holotype CAL!, isotype BSI!, K!, SUK!) ( Fig. 1 ).

Description:— Annual, erect, slender, herbs, 5–15 cm in height. Root non-tuberous, branched, fibrous. Stems erect, slender, cylindrical, sparsely pilose when young, glabrous when mature. Leaves 0.8–1.5 × 0.1–0.3 cm, simple, alternate to whorled, linear, subsessile, glaucous, green with distinct midrib, petiole with a small tuft of white hairs in the nodal axils. Inflorescence terminal, 1–6 sessile flowered capitulum surrounded by 4–7 involucral leaves and a ring of white hairs. Flowers bisexual, 1 cm across, generally cleistogamous, rarely chasmogamous, sessile, yellow. Calyx bisepalous, sepals 4–6 × 2–3 mm, ovate, connate at base, transparent, 4–6-veined, glabrous. Petals 4–5, 5–6 × 2–3 mm, connate at the base, ovate to obovate, glabrous. Stamens 8–12, free, filaments connate at the base forming a small ring and adnate to petals, unequal in length; anthers 0.7–0.9 mm, dithecous, yellowish in colour, dehiscing via longitudinal slits; filaments 1.0– 2.5 mm long, glabrous. Gynoecium 4–5 carpellary, syncarpous; ovary 2–3 × 1–2 mm, globose, lower portion sunk into base of calyx tube, glabrous. Style 3–4 mm long, glabrous, 3–4 fid, pale yellow; stigma 1–2 mm, papillate, yellow. Fruits circumscissile capsule, 4–6 × 2–3 mm, sub-globose, basal disc, and upper operculum nearly equal in length. Seeds 40–60 per capsule, sub-reniform, 0.6–0.7 mm in diameter, bluish in colour with stellulate flat cells arranged in 3–4 circular rings without central elevations.

Habitat:— The species grows in moist sandy plains.

Phenology:— Flowering season: May to July; Fruiting season: May to August.

Distribution:— The species is rarely and only known from the Bagalkot (Badami hills, Cholachgudda hills & Gudur) and Gadag (Gajendragada fort) districts of Karnataka state of India.

Notes:— Undoubtedly, Portulaca badamica is unrelated to P. tuberosa however Singh & Arigela (2022) erroneously merged this species with P. tuberosa without visiting type location and proper studies. They also made the wrong interpretation as P. badamica is a variant of P. tuberosa . However, the species shows distinct differences in morphology ( Fig 2 A–L ), micromorphology ( Dalavi et al. 2019), and molecular phylogeny ( Tamboli et al. 2022). All the distinguishing characteristics of P. badamica and P. tuberosa are depicted in ( Table 1).

Figures

FIGURE 1. A. Habit of Portulaca badamica B. Habit of P. tuberosa C. Flowering twig of P. badamia with cleistogamous flower E. Distribution of P. badamica and P. tuberosa in India. (photos by J. Dalavi).

FIGURE 2. A–K. Portulaca badamica A.–E. Different stages of habit; F. Flowering twig; G. Flower; H. Stigma; I. Cleistogamous flower; J. Seeds; K. SEM of seed; L.–X. Portulaca tuberosa; L.–O. Different stages in different forms of P. tuberosa with distinct root tuber. P.–S. Flowers of white, orange, yellow, and pink forms; T.–V. Variation in stigmatic lobes; W. Seeds; X. SEM of seed (photos by J. Dalavi).