Parahyparrhenia bellariensis (Hack.) Clayton (1972: 448)

Landge, Shahid Nawaz & Shinde, Rajendra D., 2022, A taxonomic revision of the genus Parahyparrhenia (Poaceae: Andropogoneae) in India and review of African and Thai species, Phytotaxa 541 (3), pp. 247-260 : 251-255

1. Parahyparrhenia bellariensis (Hack.) Clayton (1972: 448)

Andropogon bellariensis Hackel (1885: 123) . Type:— INDIA. [Andhra Pradesh State]. Anantpur district, Gooty Fort Hill , Wight 2321 (Lectotype K ( K000245933 , digital image!)[designated by Tiwari (2017)]available at http://apps.kew. org/herbcat/getImage.do?imageBarcode=K000245 933; isolectotypes K (K000245932, digital image!), E (E00393922 & E00393923, digital images!),G (G00165918, digital image!), US ( US 00156584, digital image!)) .

Epitype (designated here):— INDIA. Andhra Pradesh state, Anantapur district, Gooty Fort Hill [Bellary region], 23 December 2019, Shahid Nawaz GF-310 ( BLAT!) [Accession no. BLAT110540 ] ( Fig. 1 ) .

Perennial, up to 65 cm high, densely tufted, simple or sparingly branched, slender, glabrous, glaucous herb. Culms terete, geniculately ascending; nodes glabrous. Leaf blade (5.0–) 10–45 × 0.1–0.4 cm, linear, long, extremely narrow (filiform and convolute) to considerably broader (when flat)—old basal leaves prominently striated, with very acuminate apices, glabrous, glaucous, later turning reddish, flaccid, convolute, drooping and curling; basal sheaths prominently striated (almost ribbed), bulged and villous (with shiny appressed hairs) or bearded, upper sheaths shorter than or as long as (sometimes slightly longer than) the internodes, terete, tightly clasping, slightly keeled in upper part, glabrous, glaucous, striated, spathaceous in the upper parts of the plant; ligule bi-seriately ciliate, inner shorter and outer longer, 0.5 mm and 1.2 mm long respectively alternating. Inflorescence composed of a yellowish spiciformraceme, subtended by a linear, spathaceous sheath (only when young) in fascicles of many pedunculate branches arising terminally or axially; spathaceous sheath, glabrous, membranous, 6.0– 7.2 cm long; spiciform-raceme terminal or axillary (in fascicles of 5–8, issuing intravaginally on well exserted long slender peduncles), 4.5–5.0 cm long, obliquely inserted on the peduncle, the joint forming an annulus which is bearded, two homogamous lower pairs of the spikelets at the base are strictly staminate; rhachis internodes, ca. 3.0 mm long, linear, laterally compressed, ciliate on both the margins with white hairs, confluent with pedicel into the pungent callus which is somewhat protruded beyond the rhachis internode, tip oblique. Sessile spikelet, hermaphrodite, 5.5–8.0 × 1.2–1.3 mm (including the callus), linearelliptic; callus long, rigid, obliquely-pungent, somewhat protruded, up to 1.5 mm long, densely bearded with white hairs; lower glume 5.0–6.5 × 1.2–1.5 mm, elliptic, sub-oblong, sub-coriaceous, herbaceous, usually 6 or 7-nerved (but sometimes also up to 12-nerved), with a prominent longitudinal groove on the dorsal side, glabrous, margin inflexed (compressed and sharp in upper portion, lower broader and open), eciliate or ciliolate, tip acute, hyaline (sometimes due to rupturing membrane, tip appears bi-dentate), membranous; upper glume 5.5–6.8 × 1.2 mm, somewhat oblongelliptic, sub-coriaceous, 5-nerved, glabrous, margin inflexed, ciliate, tip acute (due to disintegrating membrane, the rigid median and lateral nerves remain and impart a tridentate shape to the tip which is mostly seen in the mature spikelets), slightly longer than the lower glume, exaristate; lower lemma epaleate, barren, 4.0 × 0.8–1.0 mm, oblong-lanceolate, hyaline, membranous, nerveless, margin inflexed, ciliate above the middle, tip obtuse; upper lemma rigid base of a geniculate awn, 4.0–5.0 mm long, linear-oblong, 3-nerved, bifid with thin, appressed, filiform lobes (caducous); upper palea hyaline-membranous, up to 1.3 mm long, oblong, nerveless, eciliate, tip various from obtuse to dentate or lacerated; geniculate awn issuing from the sinus of bifid lemma, ca. 32 mm long, hispidulous with long hairs on spirals of the corkscrewed column, limb (bristle) scabrid, pale. Stamens three; anthers 2.8–3.1 mm long; lodicules two, ca. 0.8 mm long, membranous, pale brown, somewhat obconical or oblong with broad truncate or tridentate tip. Stigma very densely plumose 2.3–3.0 mm long, pale orangish when dried; style short, flattened, hyaline-membranous, not terete. Caryopsis brown, linear, somewhat elliptic-oblong, 2.8–3.3 mm long. Pedicel 3.0 mm long, similar to the rhachis internode, sub-equal, laterally compressed, tip oblique, ciliate on both the margins with dense white hairs. Pedicelled spikelet, staminate or barren, ex-aristate, 6.5–8.0 mm long (including the callus), elliptic, brownish, glabrous; callus sparsely bearded, up to 0.5 mm long, somewhat squarish, obliquely placed on the pedicel; lower glume 5.0–8.0 × 2.0 mm (unopened), elliptic, sub-coriaceous somewhat translucent, 7–11-nerved, glabrous, acute, margins sharply inflexed, one side curved and minutely winged most of the length and other not curved but winged in upper portion only, ciliate in lower 2/3, tip acute to sub-acuminate, dorsally convex (sometimes with a slight, linear depression base upwards); upper glume 5.0–7.0 × 1.0– 1.2 mm, narrow elliptic, sub-hyaline, membranous, 5-nerved (nerves evanescent below the middle, green), glabrous, margin inflexed, densely ciliate, tip acute; lower lemma, epaleate, barren 5.0 × 1.2 mm, oblong-elliptic, hyaline-membranous, nerveless, margin narrowly inflexed, ciliate throughout, tip acute to sub-acute; upper lemma, staminate, 4.0–4.2 × 1.0 mm, oblong-elliptic, hyaline, membranous, 1-nerved, glabrous, margin not inflexed, tip acute to somewhat erose or lacerated; upper palea reduced 0.5 mm or little longer, hyaline-membranous, nerveless, tip various entire to lacerated, or even absent. Stamens 3, anthers 3.2–3.5 mm long. Lodicules 2, up to 0.9 mm long, glabrous, fleshy, clavate, distinctly excavated in the front and on tridentate and cupuliform apex.

Flowering and fruiting:—December–January.

Distribution:—Gandikota Fort Hill, Andhra Pradesh state, Peninsular India. Apparently narrow endemic.

Conservation status:—Critically Endangered (CR) based on the criteria A2a, B2ab (i,ii,iii,iv,v), C2a (i) and D ( Landge & Shinde 2021).

Epitypification notes:—As part of revisionary studies of the genus Parahyparrhenia in India, we studied the lectotype and isolectotypes of P. bellariensis at (K, G, US & E). The lectotype at K (barcode: K000245933) has two considerable fragments of the specimens bearing a few leaves and inflorescences. The same is with the other specimens as isolectotypes at K (barcode: K000245932), E (barcodes: E00393922 & E00393923), G (G00165918) & US ( US 00156584). All of these type specimens are devoid of the basal portion, culm and leaves. Two of the most important diagnostic features of this species are: firstly, its basal bulged sheath which is villous or densely pubescent/ bearded with white spreading or appressed hairs ( Figs. 1 & 2 ) and secondly, the bi-seriately (in two series/rows in which inner shorter and outer longer) ciliate ligule. None of the original materials exhibits these features that are important in distinguishing this species from other congeners. The recent collection on 23 December 2019 of this species by Shahid Nawaz from the type locality Gooty Fort Hill [Bellary region], Andhra Pradesh i.e. Shahid Nawaz GF-310 (Accession no. BLAT110540) is housed at The Blatter Herbarium (BLAT), for more details refer to Landge & Shinde (2021). His (S.N.L.) specimen is a complete well preserved herbarium specimen exhibiting the roots, basal portion, culms, leaves, and inflorescences, comprising all the important diagnostic features require distinguishing this species. Hence, we here designate it as an epitype according to ICN Art. 9.9 ( Turland et al. 2018) of the name Andropogon bellariensis to further interpret and support its correct identification. Since, it is the most recent collection and also from the type locality, it can be further utilized in phylogenomic studies for DNA extraction and genome sequencing.

Notes:—One of the most peculiar features of Parahyparrhenia bellariensis is its short, flattened, hyalinemembranous (papery) style quite contrary to the usually known terete and solid style in grasses. Occurrence of this particular character may be checked in other congeners about which nothing is known. It is the only species in the genus to have bi-seriately ciliate ligule, i.e. ligule with two rows of hairs i.e. inner rim of short hairs alternating with the outer rim of long hairs, and basal sheaths bulged and villous. The leaves are very linear-lanceolate, glaucous, prominently striated, flattened, mostly drooping at the base, turning somewhat reddish and later becoming filiform and convolute. The base of the plant is very thick resulting from a tuft of many culms arising closely together clothed with old sheaths. Dead culms from the previous flowering season may also be seen with new culms in the growing season during November to January. The pedicellate spikelets are usually 2-flowered (only upper floret developed), but sometimes 1-flowered then (only lower is developed) and strictly staminate. The lodicules are fleshy with a depression at the tridentate (at least slightly) apex and the frontal side. These lodicules are firmly associated close to the filaments of stamens i.e. at the base of androecium, in such a manner that the lower lobes of each bi-celled anther are sunk into the apical cavities of the lodicules (for the illustration of the lodicules, refer to Landge & Shinde 2021). The reason for this association is apparently obscure.

This species was recently rediscovered after almost 184 years by Landge & Shinde (2021) from the type locality where Heteropogon contortus ( Linnaeus 1753: 1045) Beauvois ex Roemer & Schultes (1817: 836) abounds in luxury, and to which it deceptively resembles. In the type locality, Gooty Fort Hill, the grass may have recently become extinct due to much tourist encroachment.

Specimens examined:— INDIA. Andhra Pradesh, Cuddapah district, Gandikota Fort Hill , 320m, 21 December 2019, 14°49’5.10”N 78°17’8.90”E, Shahid Nawaz GK-300, GK-301, GK-302, GK-303, GK-304, GK-305, GK-306 ( BLAT); Anantapur district , Gooty Fort Hill [Bellary region], 23 December 2019, Shahid Nawaz GF-310 ( BLAT!) [ BLAT110540 : Epitype] . INDIA. Tamilnadu, Madras [Andhra Pradesh], Gooty Fort Hill , s.d., Wight 2321 ( K!) 2 preparations; Inde [Peninsula Ind. orientis], s.d., Wight 2321 ( G!) 1 preparation; Mysore , Deccan , prope Bellari [Bellary region], s.d., Wight 2321 (US!) 1 preparation; South Asia [India], s.d., Wight 2321 ( E!) 2 preparations. (Type collections) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Epitype of Parahyparrhenia bellariensis at BLAT. Reproduced by the kind permission of the Director, the Blatter Herbarium (BLAT).

FIGURE 2. Parahyparrhenia bellariensis. A. Habit. B. Close-up of basal portion of the plant. C. Spiciform-racemes. D–I: Sessile spikelet and its parts. D. Sessile spikelet. E. Lower glume (outer side). F. Lower glume (inner side). G. Lower lemma. H. Hairy column of geniculate awn. I. Pistil. J–P: Pedicelled spikelets and its parts. J. Opened-up pedicelled spikelet. K. Lower glume. L. Upper glume. M. Lower lemma. N. Lower palea. O. Stamens. P. Lodicule. (Based on Shahid Nawaz GF-310: Epitype (Photography by: Shahid Nawaz)