Karnataka benthamii (C.B.Clarke) P.K.Mukh. & Constance, Brittonia

Gosavi, Kumar Vinod Chhotupuri, Madhav, Nilesh Appaso, Khandige, Vikas Bhat & Chandore, Arun Nivrutti, 2023, Rediscovery of little-known-monotypic genus Karnataka P. K. Mukh. & Constance (Apiaceae), Phytotaxa 601 (1), pp. 97-102 : 101

Karnataka benthamii (C.B.Clarke) P.K.Mukh. & Constance, Brittonia 38: 145, f. 1. 1986.

Schultzia benthamii C.B.Clarke in Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 2: 697. 1879. Pimpinella benthamii (C.B.Clarke) M.R.Almeida, Fl. Maharashtra 2: 358. 1998.

Perennial tuberous herbs, 0.4 to 1.0 m tall, erect with weak branches. Rootstock tuberous; tubers spherical-ovoid or elongated, usually unbranched with tapering base. Stem slender, erect, 8.0– 40 cm tall, 3.0–7.0 mm in width, glabrous to sparsely papillose, ribbed, internodes up to 20 cm. Leaves ternate to bi-pinnately ternate, 8.0–20 × 10–14 cm (excluding petiole); dilated sheathing leaf base; sheath membranous, narrowly hyaline, five to many-nerved, margin hyaline, glabrous; basal-middle leaves long petiolate; petiole 5.0–50 × 0.2–0.5 cm, slender, terete, glabrous, obscurely channeled; upper leaves sessile with prominent lamina and sheath; leaflets pinnate, 5.0–12 × 2.0–7.0 cm, petiolulate; petiolule 0.5–6.0 cm long, glabrous, channeled; leaflet lobes with or without distinct stalk; lobes tri-fid to pinnatifid, middle lobe longer then lateral, subulate to ovate-lanceolate, margin dentate, scaberulous, apex acute to mucronulate, leaflet lobe base attenuate, lateral leaf lobe base unequal, both leaf surfaces sparsely hairy. Inflorescence terminal and axillary compound umbel; peduncle 1.0– 10 cm long, slender, sparsely papillose. Involucre bracts 0–2, oval-ovate to oblong, 0.3–2.0 × 0.1–0.3 cm, 3–5-nerved, margin membranous to hyaline, fimbriate, trilobed at apex or foliaceous. Involucel usually 0–3, 2.0–4.0 × 1.0– 1.5 mm, usually ovate, apex acute to acuminate, rarely trifid, 1-nerved, sparsely papillose at base, margin scabrous to serrulate-hirsute, persistent. Rays 3–10, sub-equal to unequal, 1–2 cm long, ribbed, ribs with densely to sparsely papillose; 2–3 cm long in fruiting stage, stout. Bracteoles usually 3–4, 1–2 reduced, unequal, 2–3 mm long, linear-ovate to lanceolate, glabrous to sparsely papillose, 1–3-nerved, margin sparsely scabrous, apex obtuse-acute or trifid. Umbellet 6–16 flowered. Flowers pedicellate; pedicel equal-subequal, 2.0–4.0 mm long, papillate hairy. Flowers perfect, heteromorphic, some central flowers staminate. Calyx teeth 5, subequal, 0.3–0.5 mm long, subulate, persistent, acute at apex. Petals 5, 1.2–1.5 mm long, brilliant white, regular, inflexed, acute at apex. Stamens 5, filament glabrous, 1–2 mm long; anthers c. 0.5 mm long, included, purple coloured before anthesis. Style 2, 0.5–1.0 mm long, persistent. Stylopodium discoid, massive, persistent. Carpophore bi-partite. Fruit oval-elliptic to oblong, glabrescent to glabrous, dorsally sub-compressed to compressed, 5–10 × 3.0– 4.5 mm, obtuse at apex, obtuse to rounded at base; mericarp dorsally flattened; ribs primary, three, prominent, vascular bundles prominent. Lateral ribs prominent, inflexed unwinged. Commissural vittae 6–7; vallecular vittae unequal, 2–3 between two vallecular ribs, 3–4 between lateral and vallecular ribs. Endosperm grooved under vittae.

Phenology: —Flowering: July to August; fruiting: August to September.

Specimens examined: — INDIA, Karnataka, Dakshina Kannada Dist., Mudbidri tehsil, Padyottu , 06/07/2021 , N.A. Madhav and V.B. Khandige NAM-506 ( BSI!); Kallamundkar, Dailabettu, 22/08/2022 , K.V.C. Gosavi et al. KVCG-5097 ( SUK!, CAL!); 22/08/2022, Koppala , K.V.C. Gosavi et al. KVCG-5098 (SUK!, CAL!).

Ecological Note: —The species is growing along field bunds under tree shade and open grassland.

Distribution and conservation: —The species has been collected from five different localities of Mudbidri tehsil around 30 km areas. Authors observed that, the population of Karnataka has less than 50 individuals in each locality and since all localities are along the road sides and cultivated fields. Thus, anthropological pressure is very high on all located populations. We also observed that one population is going to vanish as whole area of population now under construction land. Therefore, need immediate action for the conservation of this species.

Karnataka confused with other genera: — Almeida (1998) mentioned genus Karnataka with new combination ( Pimpinella benthamii (C.B.Clarke) M.R. Almeida (1998: 358) in his “Flora of Maharashtra ” without any citation of specimen and locality. The mentioned carpological characters also do not match with Karnataka benthamii . Thus, he might have confused with vegetative characters of tuberous Apiaceae . Gosavi et al. (2016) worked on cytology of the endemic genera of Apiaceae from Central and Northern Western Ghats and in their work actually mentioned genus Karnataka is correctly matches with genus Polyzygus and mentioned genus Polyzygus is correctly matches with recently published genus Shrirangia . Thus, actual somatic chromosome number of Polyzygus and Shrirangia are 2 n = 22 and 2 n = 36 respectively. Chromosome number of the genus Karnataka is still unknown.

Taxonomic notes: —Vegetative characters and flower morphology are very confusable in the family Apiaceae . Genera Karnataka , Polyzygus and Shrirangia shares similar tuberous habit, leaf size, shape in some range and brilliant white flowers, but very distinct by the carpological characters. Genus Karnataka can be distinguished from the abovementioned genera by combination of carpological characters such as dorsally sub-compressed to compressed fruits, 3-ribs, only primary ribs present; lateral ribs prominent, inflexed, unwinged; commissural vittae 6–7; vallecular vittae unequal, 2–3 between two vallecular ribs, 3–4 between lateral and vallecular ribs.