Impatiens clavata Bhaskar sp. nov. – a new scapigerous balsam ...

SCIENTIFIC CORRESPONDENCE
7. Report, Bureau of Indian Standards, New
Delhi, 2000.
8. Seismic Design Guidelines for Port
Structures, International Navigation Association,
A.A. Balkema Publishers,
Lisse, 2001.
9. Ministry of Transport Japan (ed.), Design
Standard for Port and Harbour Facilities
and Commentaries, Japan Port
and Harbour Association (in Japanese),
1999; English edition Overseas Coastal
Area Development Institute of Japan,
2001.
10. http://www.slc.ca.gov/Division_Pages/M
FD/MOTEMS/MOTEMS.htm, accessed;
on 25 March 2006.
11. Ferritto, J. M., Dickenson, S. E., Priestley,
M. J. N., Werner, S. D. and Taylor, C. E.,
Technical Report TR-2103-SHR, Naval
1138
Facilities Engineering Service Center,
Port Hueneme, 1999.
12. EAU, Recommendations of the Committee
for Waterfront Structures, Harbours
and Waterways, 7th English edn (English
translation of 9th German edn), Ernst &
Sohn, Berlin, 1996, p. 599.
13. http://www.polaseismic.org/polacode.ht
m; accessed on 25 March 2006.
14. Earthquake Spectra, Reconnaissance Report,
Suppl. to vol. 18, 2002, pp. 101–
130.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. This work was
supported by the Department of Science and
Technology, New Delhi. The reconnaissance
team is grateful to Andaman Lakshadweep
Harbour Works (ALHW) and Andaman Pub-
lic Works Department (APWD) for providing
valuable support by offering access to earthquake-affected
areas, sharing information and
arranging the logistics.
Received 5 June 2006; revised accepted 20
July 2006
GOUTAM MONDAL
DURGESH C. RAI*
Department of Civil Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology,
Kanpur 208 016, India
*For correspondence.
e-mail: dcrai@iitk.ac.in
Impatiens clavata Bhaskar sp. nov. – a new scapigerous balsam
(Balsaminaceae) from Bisle Ghat, Western Ghats, South India
The species of Impatiens L. (family Balsaminaceae)
are extremely difficult to
classify as they exhibit few distinguishing
key characters 1,2 . There are only a few
authentic and monographic studies on
Impatiens of South India 1–4 . The latest
monographic work on South Indian Impatiens
1,5–7 has revealed one new species
(I. agumbeana) and a new ‘pollen variety’
(I. acaulis var. granulata) in the Section
‘Scapigerae’. Another new scapigerous
species (I. chandrasekharanii) was reported
from Akkamalai, Annamalai in Coimbatore
District 8 . Among the known South
Indian species of Impatiens, there are
three Scapigerous species which exhibit
somewhat clavate-shaped spur in the
flower, viz. I. clavicornu, I. laticornis and
I. dendricola. But in all these species the
wing petal does not have a dorsal auricle,
which is an appendage of the anterior
lobe. The new species now reported has a
sickle-shaped spur, uniquely clavate (most
unique and prominent than in the other
three species) and wings have a long and
distinct dorsal auricle produced into the
clavate spur. The clavate spur measures
nearly 18 mm long and 5–7 mm wide at
one-fourth distance from the bulged tip
and is characteristically flattened and tapelike.
Besides, the taxon exhibits several
other differences which warranted describing
this as a distinct species.
This new species was collected by the
author on large trees (epiphytic plant)
from Pushpagiri Hills, about 8 km from
Bisle (Bisle–Subramanya Road), Sakleshpur
taluk, Hassan district, Karnataka
on 24 September 1972 and 1 October
1973. Recently, on the basis of location
details given by the author, W. D.
Theuerkauf (Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary,
Wynad) also collected this plant
from this locality during September 2006.
While working on the flora of Hassan
district, C. S. Saldana collected exactly
similar specimens from Bisle on 18 September
1969, but he identified it as I.
barberi Hk.f. based on his authentication
made at Kew Herbarium. The present author
had also accordingly followed his
identification. But only recently, after
having got the access to the type material
of I. barberi Hk.f., which is preserved at
Madras Herbarium, Coimbatore (Figure 1),
it was confirmed that the specimen from
Pushpagiri Hills, Bisle is not I. barberi
but a distinct species having a prominent
clavate shaped spur and a 13 mm long
dorsal auricle, endemic to this locality.
I. barberi was named after its collector
C. A. Barber by Sir J. D. Hooker (JDH)
and it was collected from Cadamany (adjoining
Bisle) in the erstwhile Mysore
State on 8 September 1903. JDH has
made a sketch of the floral parts on the
type sheet, according to which the spur is
short and not clavate. Unfortunately, in
the type sheet of I. barberi, the flowers
and plants are not properly spread and
pressed. Therefore, the drawings left on
the type sheet are the only basis for comparison.
JDH did not give any description
for I. barberi, but only gave a key
character that the spur is small compared
to I. scapiflora and I. acaulis and grouped
it under the scapigerous balsams having
Figure 1. Type sheet of Impatiens barberi
Hk.f. preserved at Madras Herbarium, Coimbatore.
Note the sketch of floral parts made by
JDH.
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 91, NO. 9, 10 NOVEMBER 2006

dorsal auricle. Therefore, based on this,
the specimen collected by the author from
Pushpagiri Hills, having a long clavate
spur is proved to be distinct and in no way
related to I. barberi. Hence, it is treated
here as a new species and is named I.
clavata due to the prominent clavate nature
of the spur (Figure 2 c).
Table 1 gives the differences between I.
barberi and I. clavata sp. nov.
The complete description of the new
species is given below:
Section: ‘Scapigerae’
Impatiens clavata Bhaskar sp. nov.
Epiphytic scapigerous tuberous herbs,
perennial, 4–5 cm tall, tubers whitish.
Leaves radical, 10–15 mm long, petiolate,
lamina ovate, slightly inequilateral, attenuate,
shallowly crenate, apex round, fivenerved,
sparsely pilose above and glabrous
below. Scapes 1–3 flowered, up to
4–5 cm long, bracts minute, 1.5 mm long;
flowers pink or white, pedicel 10 mm
long, glabrous, sepals three-nerved, equilateral,
furunculate, obtuse at apex; spur
clavate, 18 mm long, 5–7 mm wide at onefourth
distance from the bulged tip, characteristically
ribbon-like, nerves incurved,
reticulate at the bulged tip; standard 3 mm
long; wings three-lobed, anterior lobe with
long (13 mm) dorsal auricle produced
into spur; posterior lobe elliptic, 18 mm
long, venation open dichotomous. Capsules
ovate, many seeds; seeds brown, hairy
all over the testa, hairs towards the ends
comparatively longer than those at the
lateral sides, bands on hairs spiral.
Affinis ad speciem I. denisonii, Bedd.,
I. agumbeana Bhaskar et Razi, et I. lawsonii
Hk.f., tamen differt calcari clavato
distincto ad 18 mm longo includenti distinctaque
`auricula dorsali’ 13 mm longa.
Typus lectus a Pushpagiri Hills, Bisle
Ghat, Hassan district, Karnataka; 24 September
1971, V. Bhaskar 328, positus in
Herb. Mysore University, Manasagangotri,
Mysore.
Among scapigerous species of Impatiens
of South India, there are only three
more species which have a distinct dorsal
auricle produced into the spur, viz. I.
denisonii Bedd., I. agumbeana Bhaskar
and Razi and I. lawsonii Hk.f., but I.
clavata sp. nov. differs from these species
in having 18 mm long clavate spur, 5–
7 mm wide enclosing a 13 mm long dorsal
auricle. In I. denisonii the spur is not
clavate and dorsal auricle is not more
than 10 mm long, while in I. agumbeana
and I. lawsonii the spur is not clavate and
dorsal auricle and spur are not more than
5 mm long.
Seed characters also differentiate I.
clavata from I. denisonii. In the former,
hairs on seeds are filamentous, while in
the latter they are short, and not filamentous.
In both I. clavata and I. agumbeana
hairs are elongated at either ends of seeds
(but more dense in I. agumbeana), while
the hairs on the lateral sides are short.
SCIENTIFIC CORRESPONDENCE
The hairs are spirally banded in both the
species.
In addition to these morphological characters,
there are a few similar and dissimilar
micromorphological characters in
these four related species. In I. clavata
and I. agumbeana, muri on pollen exine
sculpturing has distinct bacules and duplibaculate.
But in I. clavata, lumina is irregular
and the processes of the exine are
Table 1. Differences between I. barberi and I. clavata
I. barberi Hk.f. (Type sheet) (Figure 1) I. clavata Bhaskar sp. nov. (Figure 2)
Plant is about 12 cm (dwarf plant compared to Plant is only about 4.5 to 5 cm tall
I. denisonii, according to Hk.f.) (Figure 2 a)
Leaves oblong, about 10 per plant, Leaves 1 to 2 per plant, ovate, petiole
petiole 3.5 cm long about 1 cm
Scapes 4 to 5 per plant, about 12 cm long, Scape single, 4–5 cm long, 1–3 flowered
more than 4–5 flowered per scape per scape (Figure 2 a)
Pedicel about 15 mm long Pedicel 10 mm long
Wing petals about 10 mm long, dorsal auricle Wing petals more than 20 mm long,
about 5 mm long 13 mm long dorsal auricle about 13 mm long
(Figure 2 d)
Spur not sickle-shaped not clavate, short Spur sickle-shaped, prominently clavate,
(less than 10 mm) and cylindrical long (18 mm), characteristically tape-like
and flat (Figure 2 c)
Figure 2. a, Impatiens clavata sp. nov. plant; b, Sepal; c, Clavate spur; d, Wing petal with dorsal
auricle; e, Tricolpate pollen grains; f, Haploid chromosomes (n = 8).
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 91, NO. 9, 10 NOVEMBER 2006 1139

SCIENTIFIC CORRESPONDENCE
prominent and pointed (Figure 2 e). Whereas
in I. denisonii and I. lawsonii, bacules on
muri are obscure. With regard to the haploid
chromosome numbers, I. clavata and
I. agumbeana exhibit n = 8 (Figure 2 f )
whereas I. lawsonii exhibits n = 10, and
chromosome number is still unknown in
I. denisonii.
If this new species is compared with
other scapigerous species which have
somewhat bulged or clavate spur (viz. I.
clavicornu, I. laticornis and I. dendricola),
the most distinguishing character is the
presence of a distinct and long dorsal
auricle in I. clavata and its complete absence
in the other three species.
Plants are found frequently in shade on
moist barks of large tree trunks along with
mosses in semievergreen forests. For the
size of the plant, the flower is big. Attempts
to collect this rare balsam during
early August have proved unsuccessful.
It appears that the species appears during
late August and September and disappears
soon after the rains at the end of
October. This species is endemic to Pushpagiri
Hills in Bisle Ghat and is highly
1140
endangered as this place has become a
tourist spot.
Type: Bhaskar 328, Pushpagiri Hills,
Panorama point, Bisle Ghat, Hassan Dist.,
Karnataka, 24-9-1972; deposited at the
Herbarium, PG Department of Botany,
Manasagangotri, Mysore University,
Mysore (MGM).
1. Bhaskar, V. and Razi, B. A., Indian J.
For., 1978, 1, 191–198.
2. Blatter, E., J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.,
1933, 36, 307–320.
3. Fischer, C. E. C., In Flora of Madras
Presidency (ed. Gamble’s, J. S.), Calcutta,
1936, vol. 3, pp. 1293–1295.
4. Hooker, J. D., Rec. Bot. Surv. India, 1904,
4, 1–10.
5. Bhaskar, V., Indian For., 1981, 107,
368–376.
6. Bhaskar, V. and Razi, B. A., Indian J.
For., 1978, 1, 68–78.
7. Bhaskar, V. and Razi, B. A., Bull. Bot.
Surv. India, 1981, 23, 191–196.
8. Chandrabose, M., J. Bombay Nat. Hist.
Soc., 1978, 75, 901–902.
9. Barnes, E., J. Indian bot. Soc., 1939, 18,
95–105.
10. Bhaskar, V. and Razi, B. A., J. Bombay
nat. Hist. Soc., 1982, 79, 382–384.
11. Bhaskar, V., Razi, B. A. and Yoganarasimhan,
S. N., Curr. Sci., 1975, 44, 622–
623.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. I thank Mr M. D.
Theuerkauf, Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary,
Wynad, for constant encouragement and to Sri
N. Veerendra Babu for his assistance in preparing
the manuscript.
Received 4 May 2006; accepted 18 August
2006
V. BHASKAR
Regional Centre,
National Afforestation and
Eco-Development Board,
University of Agricultural Sciences,
GKVK Campus,
Bangalore 560 065, India
e-mail: vbhaskar49@yahoo.co.in
A new species of Ceropegia L. (Asclepiadaceae) from the
Western Ghats of India with a note on series Attenuatae Huber
Ceropegia L. (Asclepiadaceae, subfamily
Asclepiadoideae, tribe Stapelieae) is an old
world tropical genus containing about
200 species, widespread in the perimeter
of the Indian Ocean. Huber 1 classified
the species of the genus into 21 sections.
The Indian species of Ceropegia belong
to ten sections. Under the section Tiloris
Huber, three series have been recognized,
viz. Attenuatae, Campanulatae and Bowkerianae.
Distribution of the former is restricted
to peninsular India and the latter
two are restricted to tropical and extra
tropical southeastern Africa. In India, the
genus is presently represented by 48 species,
including three varieties. Huber 1 rendered
a systematic account of the genus,
wherein three species, namely Ceropegia
spiralis Wight, C. fimbriifera Bedd. and
C. attenuata Hook. have been treated under
series Attenuatae Huber, sect. Tiloris. To
these four species, viz. C. noorjahaniae
Ansari 2 , C. mahabalei Hemadri et Ansari 3 ,
C. anantii Yadav et al. 4 and C. mohanramii
Yadav et al. 5 have been added from
Figure 1. Map showing distribution of Ceropegia species belonging to series Attenuate.
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 91, NO. 9, 10 NOVEMBER 2006