Memecylon Wightii Thw. (Melastomataceae), a new Record for Maharashtra State

2004·0.88 MB·

by  Balkrishna G Gavade

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
Distribution: india: Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sikkim,WestBengal;Bhutan,China, Myanmar.
Notes: The plant was found growing in subtropical We are grateful to the Director, Botanical Survey of
forestatanelevationofc. 1,300monhumus-richsoil,beside India, to Dr. M. Sanjappa and Dr. S.K. Verma for help and
a stream. The area experiences heavy rainfall and the plant encouragement.
was found to reach the top ofthe forest canopy. We could
not locate the species in any other locality of Dibang November15,2001 M.K. PATHAK
Valley. M. BHAUMIK
A copious amount of watery sap was found to ooze Botanical SurveyofIndia,P.O. BotanicGarden,
out on cutting the stem. Howrah711 103, WestBengal,India.
MEMECYLON WIGHTII THW. (MELASTOMATACEAE), A NEW RECORD
29.
FOR MAHARASHTRA STATE
During studies on the flora ofSavantwadi taluka and MemecylonofFamilyMelastomataceaedrewtheattentionof
thereafter Chaukul and Ramghat area ofSindhudurg district theauthor.Criticalstudyofthecollectedmaterialsconfirmed
ofwestern Maharashtra, a number of interesting flowering its identity as M. wightii Thw.
plants were collected. A rare plant belonging to the genus Nomenclature, a short description and differences
betweentherelatedspeciesaregiven inthenote. Illustrations
offloweringtwigandafruitareprovided(Fig. 1).
MemecylonwightiiThw.,Enum. 113.1859;Cogniauxin
DC.,Monogr. Phan. 7: 1145.1891;C.B.ClarkeinJ.D. Hooker
FloraBritish India2: 554. 1897; WoodrowinJ. BombayNat.
Hist. Soc. 11:638.1898;Cooke,T.TheFloraofthePresidency
ofBombay2: 503.1903; Talbot, ForestFloraofthe Bombay
PresidencyandSindh2: 55.1911.
Asmalltree;branchletsslender,quadrangular,winged;
wings broader between each node. Leaves shortly petiolate,
ovate-oblong, acute orsomewhatacuminate, glabrous,thick,
shining above, penninerved beneath. Flowers crowded
cauliflorous, borne on the bare basal portion ofthebranchlet
in between two nodes, pedicellate; pedicel slender, tube
campanulate; limbslightly4-lobedoralmosttruncate. Petals
blue, obtuse. Berry spherical, conspicuously crowned with
thecalyx-limb.
M. wightiiThw. resemblesM. randerianumAlmeida&
Almeida in general appearance, however, it varies from
M. randerianum in the followingcharacters.
M. wightii Thw. M. randerianum
Almeida&Almeida
1. Branchlets quadrangular 1 Branchlets terete,
winged.
2 Leaves shortly pedicellate, 2. Leaves sessile, amplexicaule
rounded at base.
3 Flowers cauliflorous in 3. Flowers axillary,
clusters.
4 Pedicel very slender, 4. Pedicel stout, peduncle erect
pendulous, peduncle
absent.
332 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 101 (2), May-Aug 2004
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
FI:January.
Fr: September.
The materials collected from an evergreen forest near I am grateful for guidance and help from Prof. M.R.
Almeida and Dr. (Mrs.) S.M. Almeida in the preparation of
the Amboli-Chaukul border are preserved and deposited at
BlatterHerbarium.(SpecimensNo.BGG 1050,2628). thisarticle.
ThereisnoreportofthisspeciesfromthepresentState January22,2002 BALKRISHNA G. GAVADE
of Maharashtra. Nor are there any specimens in Blatter BlatterHerbarium,St.Xavier’sCollege,
Herbarium,Mumbai. MahapalikaMarg,Mumbai400001, India.
30. LEPTOLEJEUNEA BALANSAE STEPH. (HEPATICAE: JUNGERMANN1ALES)
- A NEW RECORD OF BRYOFLORA FROM THE INDIAN MAINLAND
The WesternGhatsinpeninsularIndia-recognizedas Leptolejeuneabalansae,afolicolousliverwort,earlierknown
one ofthe richest biodiversity hotspots in the world - has to occur only in the Andamans in India (Pande et al. 1957;
been studied well for flowering plants. The Tirunelveli- Awasthi 1986) was recorded from the study area. A detailed
Travancore hills, located at the southern end ofthe Western description and an illustration are provided.
Ghats and lying in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala Leptolejeunea balansae Steph. in Hedwigia 35: 105.
respectively, are perhaps the richest in the Western Ghats. 1896& Sp. Hepat. 5: 377. 1913; Pandeetal. inJ. Indian Bot.
The flowering plants, and ferns and their allies have been Soc. 36: 345. 1957; U.S. Awasthi in J. Indian Bot. Soc. 65:
welldocumented,butlowergroupsremaingreatlyneglected. 119.1986 (Fig. 1).
Thereforewebegancollectingthe bryophytesofthe Western Plants dioecious, folicolous, closely appressed to the
mm
Ghats ofTirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts, three years substratum, 2-10 long, green. Leaves distant, spreading
ago, with the intention of compiling an inventory. obliquely,slipper-shaped,0.35-0.4x0.17-0.19mm,entirealong
Fig. 1: LeptolejeuneabalansaeSteph.;A Leafshowingthalli, B. Thalluswithantheridia, C Leafwithlobuleshowingtheupperocellus,
D Leafwithoutlobuleshowingboththeocelli, E & F Underleaves, G Leafcellswithanocellus,
H. Leafcellswithoilbodies, I leafapex
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 101 (2), May-Aug 2004 333