Peliosanthes macrophylla Wall. ex Baker, 1879

Borah, D., Taram, M., Tangjang, S., Upadhyaya, A. & Tanaka, N., 2020, Peliosanthes macrophylla var. assamensis (Asparagaceae), a new variety from Behali Reserve Forest in Assam, Northeast India, Blumea 65 (2), pp. 121-125 : 121-123

Peliosanthes macrophylla Wall. ex Baker

Peliosanthes macrophylla Wall.ex Baker (1879) 505. — Lectotype (designated by Roy et al. 2017): W. Griffith 5841 (lecto P00214605),Mishmee,1836.

Terrestrial, evergreen, perennial herbs, 60–90 cm tall. Roots many, soft to rigid, often profusely branched, pubescent, up to 4 mm diam. Stem rhizome-like, up to 8 cm long, 1–2(–4) cm diam, knobby, annually growing for 1–2 cm, covered with several loose papyraceous scales. Leaves few to over 20, 1 (rarely 2) per annual node, erect; petiole rigid, subterete, 15–50 cm by 3–7 mm; blade (narrowly) elliptic, 20–40 by 6–12 cm, base decurrent into the petiole, margin entire, apex acute to acuminate, glabrous, longitudinal veins more than 50, of which primary veins 10 or 11, transverse veinlets indistinct. Flowering stem (including peduncle and inflorescence rachis) 21–40 cm tall; peduncle erect, rigid, 5–25 cm by 1–5 mm, purplish, bearing 5–8 sterile bracts of 15–25 by 5–9 mm; inflorescence a raceme, rachis 10–22 cm long, (dark) purple, bearing loosely to densely arranged 12–50 flowers. Floral bracts purplish green with hyaline margins later turning brown, navicular, (broadly) subulate or linear, 5–13 by 3–7 mm, with 3 longitudinal veins; inner bracts (bracteoles) 1–4 by c. 1 mm. Flowers solitary in bracts, nodding, articulated with a (green-)purplish pedicel 3–6 mm long. Perianth fleshy, abaxially dark purplish, adaxially greenish yellow, distally purplish, 6-cleft; segments obliquely spreading, ovate-oblong to oblong, 4–6.5 by 2–4 mm, apex obtuse to rounded, laterally slightly revolute, somewhat incurved distally. Androecium monadelphous; corona conically narrowing above, 2–4 mm tall, 3.5–6 mm diam, hexagonal at base, cir- cular distally, pale (greenish) yellow, apical opening 6-crenate, 2–4 mm diam; anthers 6, attached dorsally to inner wall of corona, sessile, oblong, 1–2.5 mm long, introrse, creamy white. Pistil single, half-inferior, 2–5 mm high (excluding sunken part), pale (greenish) yellow; ovary ovoid to (sub)conical, 0.6–3 mm high (excluding sunken part), 2–3 mm wide, ovules arising from base of central axis of ovary; style 1.5–3 mm long, trigonous; stigma trisected, ridged, white. Seeds berry-like, ellipsoid, (1–)1.5–2 by (0.5–) 1–1.2 cm across, sarcotesta externally blue, internally white, fleshy, seed core ellipsoid, containing much albumen and narrowly cylindric embryo.

Distribution — E Nepal, Bhutan, NE India ( Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh).

Note — This species was first described by Baker (1879) on the basis of specimens collected by J.D. Hooker, C.B. Clarke or W. Griffith. Roy et al. (2017) designated the Griffith’s collection 5841 from Mishmee (currently Mishmi hills, Arunachal Pradesh) preserved at P (P00214605) as the lectotype.The lectotype and the isolectotypes at K (K000099376) and NY (NY00319817) are in fruit.