Cestrum aurantiacum Lindley (1844: 71)

Sahoo, Phani Bhusan & Dash, Sudhansu Sekhar, 2025, Taxonomic identity of Cestrum benghalense (Solanaceae): A New Synonym of Cestrum aurantiacum, Phytotaxa 708 (2), pp. 236-240 : 239

Cestrum aurantiacum Lindley (1844: 71) . ( Fig. 1 & 2 )

Type:— GUATEMALA. Chimalapa, Cultivated, seed from G. U. Skinner, Lindley s.n. [holo: CGE (n.v.); iso: K (K001809369!) ( Edmonds 2012)]

= Cestrum benghalense Kalidass & Mallia (2022: 129) syn. nov. [ C. benghalensis ].

Type:— INDIA. West Bengal, Chilapata forest, 27 April 1965, H. Santapau and S.K Mukerjee, 193 (holo: CAL [CAL0000266945!]).

Large shrub, up to 2m high; stems terete, woody, glabrous, pale yellow; internodes 0.5–0.7 cm long. Leaves simple, spiral or alternate, broadly ovate-lanceolate, 9.3–10.3 × 3–3.7 cm, acute at base, acute to acuminate at apex, entire at margin, membranous, dark green above, pale beneath; lateral nerves 8 or 9 on either side of midvein, glabrous on both surfaces; petioles 1.8–2 cm long. Inflorescence terminal to sub-terminal, thyrse, branched, 18–20 flowered, peduncle 1–2.5 cm long, brown on drying, glabrous; bracteole foliaceous, ovate lanceolate, 10–18 × 3–5 mm, minutely pubescent. Flowers 1.8–2.2 cm long, subsessile or with 1–2 mm pedicel. Calyx narrowly tubular, 6–9 × 2 – 2.5mm, glabrous outside, pubescent inside, 5-lobed, lobes unequal, narrowly triangular, margin ciliate, acute-acuminate at apex. Corolla orange to yellowish-red, single whorled, infundibuliform to urceolate, 1.3–2.2 × 0.3–0.5cm, tube 1.1–1.4 cm long, narrow towards base, glabrous outside, pubescent inside towards base, 5-lobed, lobes triangular, 0.3–0.4 × 0.1–0.2 cm, entire at margin, acute to apiculate at apex, reflexed, glabrescent externally, densely pilose at inrolled marginal bands. Stamens 5, equal, epipetalous, attached at middle of tube, included; filaments 0.4–0.5 cm long, pubescent at insertion point, curved apically, anthers yellow to orange, oblong to ellipsoid, 0.6-0.8 × 0.3–0.5mm, ventrifixed. Ovary globose, 0.9–1.2 × 0.8–1mm, style 1–1.4 cm long, stigma 0.4–0.5mm long. Berry sub-sessile, ovoid, 8–10× 4–5 mm, white. Seeds ellipsoidal, curved, 2.5–4× 2–3 mm, dark brown.

Distribution:— INDIA: Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Often naturalized in forest outskirts.

Phenology:—Flowering and fruiting from March-December.

Additional specimens examined:— INDIA. Sikkim: Gangtok District, Near Enchey Monastery , 2185m. alt., 23 September 2023, S.S. Dash & P.B. Sahoo 96403 (CAL) ; West Bengal: Darjeeling District, Near Meadow bank, 1812 m. alt., 12 November 1972, A.K. Sarkar 11844 (CAL) ; Darjeeling district, Kurseong, Dawhills area , 23 May 1966, D. Das 152 (CAL) ; Uttarakhand: Dehradun district: Mussoorie 1500 m. alt., 15 October 1967, C.L.Malhotra 12456 (CAL)

Figures

FIGURE 1. Cestrum aurantiacum Lindl., A. Habitat; B. Flowering twig; C. Leaf adaxial view; D. Leaf abaxial view; E. Inflorescence; F. Flower; G. Calyx; H. Corolla spilt open showing arrangement of stamens; I. Gynoecium; J. Berry.

FIGURE 2. Isotype of Cestrum aurantiacum Lindl. (K001809369). © The Board of Trustees of the RBG, Kew.