Tripogon polyanthus Naik & Patunkar, Bull. Bot. Surv.

K., Thoiba, Abstract, A. K. Pradeep & Roem., Tripogon, 2020, A revision of Tripogon (Poaceae: Chloridoideae) in India, Rheedea 30 (3), pp. 325-378 : 359-361

Tripogon polyanthus Naik & Patunkar, Bull. Bot. Surv. India 15 (1–2): 158. 1973; S.Moulik, Grass. Bam. India 2: 623. 1997; Potdar, Salunkhe & S.R.Yadav, Grass. Maharashtra: 563. 2012. Tripogon jacquemontii var. polyanthus (Naik & Patunkar) Sang.Dey & Prasanna, J. Econ. Tax. Bot. 43(1–4): 7. 2020[“2019”]. Type: INDIA , Maharashtra, Aurangabad district, Daulatabad, 18.10.1973, Patunkar 1859A (holo CAL [CAL0000002445!]; iso Marathwada University, BSI [BSI0000000677!]).

FiGS. 33 , 34 & 36

Caespitose perennials. Culms 30–80 cm high, terete, erect; nodes glabrous. Leaf sheaths 1.5–6 cm long, ribbed, margins long ciliate; ligules membranous or ciliate; leaf blades 3–10 × 0.1–0.2 cm, linear, convolute, hairy at adaxially and glabrous abaxially, acuminate to attenuate at apex. Racemes 10–30 cm long, spiciform, erect or curved; spikelets arranged loosely in rachis; rachis 0.5–1.5 cm long, stout, glabrous or scabridulous; peduncle 5–13 cm, glabrous. Spikelets 2–6.5 × 0.1–0.2 cm, linear, yellowish or purple tinged, straw-coloured at dry, 20–60-flowered; callus bearded, hairs 0.5– 1mm long; rachilla 1–1.2 mm long, scabridulous; lower glumes 3–3.5 × 0.5–0.75 mm, notched on one-side, ovate-lanceolate, 1-nerved, 1-keeled, keels slightly scabrid, mucronulate at apex; upper glumes 3.5–4.5 × 0.75–1 mm, linear-lanceolate, 1- nerved, 1-keeled, mucronate at apex, mucro 0.5 mm long; lemmas 3.5–4 × 0.6–1 mm (excluding awn), ovate-lanceolate, 3-nerved, 1-awned, 2- lobed, lobes ciliate or sometimes minutely awned, median awns 1–2 mm long, scabrid; paleas 3–4.25 × 0.8–1.25 mm, obovate-lanceolate, narrowly winged, hyaline, 2-keeled, keels ciliate, acute at apex; lodicules 2, 0.5–0.7 mm long, slightly cordate; stamens 3, anthers 1–1.6 mm long, oblong, filaments 0.5–0.75 mm long, slender, glabrous; ovary 0.3–0.5 mm long, obovate, styles 2, 0.5–0.75 mm long, slender, hyaline, stigma 0.75–1 mm long, plumose, creamy white. Caryopses 1.4–1.8 × 0.2– 0.3 mm, narrowly oblong-lanceolate, light brown.

Flowering & fruiting: Flowering and fruiting from August to October.

Habitat: This species is generally found growing in open situations along dry river bed rocks in association with Aristida funiculata Trin. & Rupr. , Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., Chrysopogon polyphyllus Blatt. & McCann , Digitaria annua Van der Veken , Eragrostis amabilis (L.) Wight & Arn. (all Poaceae ) and Tridax procumbens L. ( Asteraceae ).

Distribution: Endemic to India , hitherto known only from a few localities in Maharashtra State.

Specimens examined: INDIA , Maharashtra, Aurangabad district, Daulatabad , 400 m, 18.10.1973, B. W . Patunkar 1857a ( BSI, CAL); Nandurbar district, Tapi river bed, Prakasha, Shahada , 15.11.2016, K. V. C . Gosavi & K . Thoiba 146747a, 146747b, 146747c ( CALI); Pune district, Sinhagad , 05.09.2010, K. M . Manudev & Santhosh Nampy 3429 ( CALI) .

Notes: Dey and Prasanna (2019) consider T. polyanthus as a variety of T. jacquemontii apparently based on the examination of herbarium specimens. However, our field studies show that they are very distinct and to be treated as two separate species. Tripogon polyanthus is rather confined to a few localities in Maharashtra and prefers to grow along dry river bed rocks, while T. jacquemontii is rather widespread in the hills of Central India . The report of this taxon (l.c.) from Madhya Pradesh is doubtful. Tripogon polyanthus differs from T. jacquemontii in having much longer many-flowered spikelets which are rather divaricate, more loose and straw-coloured, and the lemmas are 2-fid at the apex.

Tripogon pungens C.E.C.Fisch., Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1934 (4): 170. 1934 & in Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 3: 1834: 1934; Bor, Grass. Burma Ceylon India Pakistan 522. 1960; S.Moulik, Grass. Bam. India 2: 623. 1997; Kabeer & V.J. Nair, Fl. Tamil Nadu Grass: 180. 2009; Potdar, Salunkhe & S. R . Yadav, Grass. Maharashtra: 564. 2012. Type: INDIA , Tamil Nadu, Coimbatore district, Punachi, Anaimalais hills, 3500 ft, 10.10.1901, C. A . Barber 3717 (holo K [ K000245044 digital image!]; iso MH [ MH00002624 !]) .

Tripogon paramjitianus Murug., Arum. & Kabeer ,

Indian J . Forest. 40 (3): 285. 2017 , syn. nov. Type: INDIA , Tamil Nadu, Velliangiri hills, Western Ghats, 22.11.2014, Murugesan 302A (holo MH

[MH00003447!]; iso MH [MH00003448!]). FiGS. 35 & 36

Densely tufted perennials. Culms up to 20 cm high, branched, thickened with the imbricating old leaf sheaths, slender, wiry and usually long exerted above; nodes concealed by the sheaths. Leaf sheaths 5–10 mm long, imbricate, striate; ligules represented by a minute hairy ridges; leaf blades 1–5 cm long, convolute or involute, rigid, pungent, often curved, equitant, coriaceous, 6–8 ribbed and minutely hispidulous adaxially, glabrous abaxially. Racemes 3–8 cm long, numerous, erect or curved, 15–35 spikelets loosely or tightly arranged in rachis; rachis narrow; peduncles 5–15 cm long, glabrous. Spikelets 2–6 × 1–1.5 mm, narrowly ellipsoid, 3– 9-flowered; callus bearded; rachilla 0.6–1 mm long, terete, more or less hairy, disarticulating at the base of each floret; lower glumes 2–3 × 0.5–1 mm, membranous, asymmetrical, 1-nerved, obtuse (sometimes the glume completely divided into two sub-equal parts); upper glumes 2.8–4 × 0.5–1 mm, oblong, acute or notched, strongly 1-ribbed, back rounded or more or less keeled; lemmas 1.5–2.5 × 0.8–1.5 mm (excluding awn), upper lemmas in spikelet tend to be smaller towards apex, broadly ovate, obtuse, 3-nerved, apex shortly 2-lobed, lobes obtuse, bearing an arista or awn from the sinus, arista 0.6–1.2 mm long; paleas 2–2.2 × 0.5–0.8 mm, oblanceolate, 2-keeled, keels ciliolate, obtuse, conduplicate at apex; lodicules 2, narrowly ob-cuneate, 0.1–0.2 mm long, truncate; stamens 3, anthers 1 mm long, oblong, filaments 0.5–0.75 mm long, slender, glabrous; ovary minute, sub-globose, styles 2, distinct at the base. Caryopses 0.2–0.5 × 0.5–1 mm, oblong, cylindrical, light brown.

Flowering & fruiting: Flowering and fruiting from September to November.

Habitat: This species grows on rocks in higher elevation grasslands (900–1800 m) with the lower part of the stem in rock crevices. It is found in association with Arundinella mesophylla , Jansenella griffithiana , Tripogon bromoides (all Poaceae ), Eriocaulon sp. ( Eriocaulaceae ), Desmodium styracifolium (Osbeck) Merr. ( Fabaceae ) and Utricularia praeterita P. Taylor ( Lentibulariaceae ).

Distribution: Endemic to South India .

Specimens examined: INDIA , Kerala, Idukki district, Pothadi, Marayoor , 26.01.2018, F . Dani & K . Thoiba 146796; Ibid. , 26.01.2018, F . Dani & K . Thoiba 158302 ( CALI). Tamil Nadu, Dindigul district , s.loc., s.d., s.coll. 50215 ( RHT) .

Notes: Tripogon paramjitianus was described by Murugesan et al. (2017) from the Velliangiri hills in Tamil Nadu. The authors distinguished their new species from T. pungens based on the size of leaf blades, lobes of glumes, and the number of florets in the spikelets. Tripogon pungens is unique in having thickened culms by persistent leaf sheaths and leaves being equitant, rigid and pungent. An examination of T. pungens in the field also shows that its leaves are not as pungent in the young stages and the racemes not much more extended from the leaves, while characters such as the size of spikelets, shape and number of lobes in glumes, size of awns in the lemma and the size of anthers are found to be variable, and cannot be taken as a reliable character in distinguishing species. An examination of the type of T. paramjitianus (Murugesan 302A, MH!) and other specimens from Kerala and Tamil Nadu showed it to be conspecific with T. pungens , hence reduced it here into synonymy of T. pungens .

Figures

FiG. 33. Tripogon polyanthus Naik & Patunkar: a. Habit; b. Enlarged portion of raCeme; c. & d. Spikelet; e. Ligule; f. Glumes; G. Floret; h. Lemma; i. Palea; j. Stamen & pistil; & k. LodiCules; L. Caryopsis.

FiG. 34.Tripogon polyanthus Naik & Patunkar:a. Habit;b. Spikelet;c. Lower glume; d. Upper glume; e. Lemma; f. Palea; G. Stamen; h. LodiCule; i. Pistil; j. Caryopsis.

FiG. 36. Distribution of Tripogon polyanthus Naik & Patunkar, T. pungens C.E.C.FisCh. and T. purpurasCens Duthie in India [drawn using ESRI (2011) ArCGIS Desktop: Release 10].

FiG.35.Tripogon pungens C.E.C.FisCh.:a. Habit;b. Spikelet;c.Lower glume; d. Upper glume; e. Lemma; f. Palea; G. Stamen; h. Pistil; i. Caryopsis.