Swertia alpina U.C.Bhattach. & S.Agrawal (1981: 47)

Kumar, Aashish & Singh, Harsh, 2024, A newly described Lomatogonium madhmaheshwariansis is a synonym of Swertia alpina, Phytotaxa 663 (1), pp. 55-58 : 56

Swertia alpina U.C.Bhattach. & S.Agrawal (1981: 47) . Figs. 1

Type:— India, Uttarakhand, Kedarnath glacial valley, Chamoli Garhwal, North West Himalaya, 4000 m, 27 th Sept. 1958, M. A. Rau 8701

( BSD). =Lomatognium madhmaheshwariansis (2023: 5) syn.nov. Type:— India, Himalayan Region, Uttarakhand, Rudraprayag district, Budha-Madhmaheshwar valley, 30°37′59.286″N, 79°12′40.183″E,

3485 m a.s.l., 15 th Sept. 2021, Singh et al. 334 810 (holotype: LWG).

Description:—Annual, 15–50 cm long, herb. Stem erect, tetragonal, glabrous. Cauline leaves opposite, exstipulate, sessile, glabrous; middle ones on main stem, ovate-cordate to ovate-lanceolate, apices acute. Inflorescence axillary to terminal cymes of 2–6 clusters, lax in fruiting; penducles 0.7–3.5 cm long, strict; bracts linear, sessile, acute; flowers purple in buds, 6–9 mm long, pentamerous, pedicellate; pedicels 0.4–2.9 cm long, terminal one longest; calyx lobed, 5, glabrous, persistent; lobes 4–6 × 1–2 mm, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, margins serrulate; corolla rotate, persistent longer than the calyx; lobes 5, 6–8 × 3–4 mm, ovate-lanceolate, acute; glands 2, on either side of the base of each lobe, minute, oblong-ovoid with hairy or sub-glabrous margins. Stamens 5, epipetalous; filaments filiform, 3–4 mm long; anthers bluish, oblong, c. 1 mm. Ovary oblong-elliptic, sessile, 4–5 × 2–3 mm; style reduced; stigma 2 or bifid, hemispheric or reniform, papillose. Capsule oblong, sessile, 0.8–1.2 × 3.9 mm, subincluded when ripe. Seeds numerous, brownish-black, sub-globose, c. 1 × 1 mm; testa alveolate.

Flowering and Fruiting:—Flowering in the month of August–September while fruiting in the month of September last–November.

Distribution:—So far, the species is known in Uttarakhand at an elevation of 3000–4500 m.

Habitat:— Swertia alpina is growing in alpine pastures of mountain open slopes at elevations of 3200–4500 m a.s.l.

Notes:— Swertia alpina is well known species found in alpine pastures of an altitude of 3200–4500 m a.s.l. of the Himalayas. In 1981, U.C.Bhattacharya and Sunita Agrawal was described it in the Journal Bulletin Botanical Society, Bengal based on earlier collected plant materials of M.A.Rau (collection number 8701) from glacial valley of Kedarnath at an altitude of 4000 m in 1958. The species epithet ‘ alpina ’ meaning alpine was named after its occurrence in alpine pastures of Uttarakhand. Bhattacharya & Agrawal compared S. alpina with S. tetragona Edgeworth (1846: 86) and is differentiated due to its ovate-cordate to ovate-lanceolate, sessile, margins not revolute, 3–5 nerved. (vs. linear lanceolate, subsessile, margins slightly revolute, 1–3 nerved.), seeds brownish-black 1 mm in size (vs. seeds reddish-brown, less than 1 mm in size. Lomatogonium madhmaheshwariansis which is newly described species was misidentified due to the fact that it has all the characters conspecific with S. alpina .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Swertia alpina U.C.Bhattach. & S.Agarwal: A. habitat and habit; B. leaves pattern; C., & D. flower.