Ixora ravikumarii Kottaim., 2016

Kottaimuthu, Ramalingam, 2016, Ixora ravikumarii, a new name for Ixora monticola Gamble (Rubiaceae: Ixoroideae), Phytotaxa 263 (1), pp. 79-80 : 79

Ixora ravikumarii Kottaim. , nom. nov.

Replaced synonym: Ixora monticola Gamble (1920: 246) , nom. illeg., non Ixora monticola (Hiern 1870: 177) Kuntze (1891: 287) .

TYPE:— INDIA. Tamil Nadu: Madurai District, High wavy mountains, near Cumbum, alt. 300-1200 m, May 1917, Blatter & Hallberg 254 (Lectotype: CAL, designated by Hussain 1989: 296 ; Isolectotype: K! [Barcode K000031329 ] ).

Etymology:— The new name is named after Dr. K. Ravikumar at Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT), Bangalore, India for his remarkable contributions to the Flora of High Wavy Mountains.

Distribution:— INDIA (Kerala & Tamil Nadu), Endemic.

Note:— Govaerts et al. (2016) treated Ixora monticola Gamble as an unplaced name. However, the species is quite distinct from other species in its leaf shape, inflorescence and fruits. The species resembles I. cuneifolia Roxburgh (1820: 390) , but it can be easily distinguished from the latter by the head having 150–200 flowers per head (not 114–125), peduncle 2–8 mm (not 8–53 mm) long, bracts lanceolate (not linear), calyx-lobes linear (not ovate–triangular), anthers 2–3 mm (not 3–4 mm) long and styles 6.5–11.5 mm (not 8.5–17 mm) long.