Alysicarpus tetragonolobus Edgew. var. falcatus Dalavi, Bramhad., P.R.Mane & S.R.Yadav, 2021

J. V., Dalavi, S. P., Bramhadande, R. N., Mane, P. R., Mane & Yadav, S. R., 2021, Two new varieties of Alysicarpus (Fabaceae) from Peninsular India, Rheedea 31 (1), pp. 25-30 : 26

Alysicarpus tetragonolobus Edgew. var. falcatus Dalavi, Bramhad., P.R.Mane & S.R.Yadav , var. nov. Fig. 1

Morphologically allied to A. tetragonolobus Edgew. var. tetragonolobus but distinct by its habit (procumbent and slender vs. procumbent to erect and robust), corolla (mono-coloured vs. mono to bi-coloured), pod (falcate vs. straight), articles (compressed, bi-convex, isobilateral vs. tetragonolobus or quadrangular), terminal article (continued into a stout beak vs. minute and articulated beak) and beak (persistent vs. caducous).

Type: INDIA, Maharashtra, Kolhapur district, N 16.678644, E 74.263666, Rajaram lake , 05.11.2019, S.P. Bramhadande, J.V. Dalavi, P.R. Mane & S.R. Yadav JVD-1392 (holo CAL!; iso CAL!, SUK! & BSI!) .

Annual, branched procumbent herbs, to 10–20 cm tall. Stems slender, sparingly branched, sparsely pilose. Leaves unifoliolate, elliptic-ovate to lanceolate, 1.5–3.5 × 0.3–0.5 cm., base rounded and apex acute to rounded, margins entire, dorsiventrally glabrous to sparsely pilose on both the surfaces; petioles 0.3–0.5 cm long. Racemes terminal, 4–10 cm long. Flowers 0.7–1 cm across; pedicels c. 5 mm long, usually paired; bracts ovate to broad lanceolate, c. 3 × 1.5 mm, acuminate, ciliate, faintly veined; bracteoles linear, c. 2 × 0.3 mm, ciliate along margins. Calyx c. 6 mm across; sepals 5, anterior two united forming V-shaped notch in the middle, scarious. Petals 5, papilionaceous; standard petal broadly ovate, 4–6 × 4–5 mm, emarginate at apex, clawed at base, glabrous, dark pink; wing petals 0.5–0.6 × 0.2–0.4 cm, clawed, glabrous, pink to red; keel petals ovate-elliptic, c. 4 × 1 mm, clawed, pink. Stamens diadelphous (9+1); staminal column c. 3 mm long; filaments glabrous. Gynoecium c. 3 mm long; style bent at middle, sparsely hairy on the apical portion. Pods sickle shaped or falcate, 1– 1.5 cm long, dorsiventrally compressed, articles 2– 6, terminal article continued into thick stout beak; beak c. 3 mm, non-articulated, persistent; article c. 3 × 2.5 mm, more or less biconvex, isobilateral, slightly longer than broader, deeply reticulated, green when young, black to brown when mature. Seeds ovate to spherical, c. 2 × 1.5 mm, slightly compressed, yellowish brown, polished.

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

Habitat: Common along lakesides in wet grasslands in association with Alysicarpus . tetragonolobus var. tetragonolobus , A. vaginalis (L.) DC., Desmodium triflorum (L.) DC., Zornia gibbosa Span. (all Fabaceae ), Eleocharis atropurpurea (Retz.) J.Presl & C.Presl. ( Cyperaceae ), and Pulicaria wightiana Clarke ( Asteraceae ).

Etymology: The variety epithet ‘falcatus’ comes from the falcate shape of the pods.

Distribution: Rajaram Lake (Kolhapur), Maharashtra, India.

Conservation status: No detailed data is available on the distribution of this variety, hence assessed here as Data Deficient (DD) as per the guidelines of IUCN (2019).

Notes: The variety has a very distinct pod in the whole genus, as the majority of species have pods showing a distinct articulation at the base of the beak, but here, the terminal article is directly converted into beak.

Figures

Fig. 1. Alysicarpus tetragonolobus var. falcatus Dalavi, Bramhad., P.R. Mane & S.R.Yadav: A. Habit; b. & c. Leaves; D. Stipule and stipels; e. Flowers; f. Bract and bracteoles; g. Calyx; h. Dissected corolla; i. Androecium; j. Gynoecium; k. Pods; l. Seed (from JVD-1392; photos by J.V. Dalavi).