Syzygium sanjappaiana M.V.Ramana, 2014

Ramana, M. Venkat, Chorghe, A. & Venu, P., 2014, Two new species of Syzygium (Myrtaceae) from Saddle Peak National Park, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, Blumea 59 (1), pp. 42-48 : 45

2. Syzygium sanjappaiana M.V.Ramana , sp. nov. — Fig. 3 , 4

Type. M. V. Ramana 779 (holo CAL; iso BSID, PBL) , India, North Andaman Islands , Saddle Peak National Park, Kalpong River, N13°09'37.1" E92°58'05.8", 228 m alt., 20 Feb. 2012 .

Etymology. This new species is named after Dr. M. Sanjappa, for his contributions to the Legumes of India.

Small tree, 3–5 m tall, 25–30 cm dbh. Bark smooth, greyish with pink tinge. Branchlets previous year cylindrical, greyish white, young ones flattened; nodes thickened. Leaves simple, opposite, crowded near the apices of the branchlets, coriaceous, broadly elliptic to orbicular, obovate, 3.5–5 by 3–4 cm, acute at base, entire, slightly revolute at margins, acute, rounded, rarely obtuse at apex, turning black above, coppery below when dried, midrib sulcate above, raised beneath, secondary nerves 10–12 pairs, sunken on both the surfaces, looping near the margins, pellucid punctuate beneath. Petioles 3–6 mm long. Reproductive seasonal growth unit with vegetative and reproductive zones. Inflorescence usually in leaf axils, rarely terminal, 6–10-flowered, main axis 3–5 cm long, angular; bracteate, bracts minute, oblong, caducous; bracteoles absent. Flowers white, calyptrate (the calyptra formed from fused sepals only, the petals cohere to the calyptra and fall with it) sessile or stalked; the calyptra 4.6 by 4.6 mm. Hypanthium visibly pellucid punctuate, stipitate, obconic, 5.7 by 7.2 mm, the stipe 4.4 mm long. Petals 4, cohering into a pseudocalyptra, orbicular with a short claw, 4.9 by 4.1 mm, visibly pellucid punctuate, falling with calyptra. Staminal disc unmodified. Stamens all fertile, white, aggregated in bundles; filaments slender, 6–10 mm long; anther sacs parallel, oblong; anthers dorsifixed, 0.7 by 0.6 mm long, dehiscing by longitudinal slits, connective not glandular. Style 12.5 mm long at anthesis; stigma slightly bent. Placentation axile-basal, the placenta protruding into locule. Ovules 3–6 per locule, arranged spreading to ascending. Mature fruits spherical, sometimes partially flattened and grooved, sessile or stalked, pale pink to dark purple when ripe, 1.5 by 1.5 cm, crowned with a distinct c. 3 mm long calyx limb, pericarp dry, distinctly free from the seed. Seed one, without intrusive tissue interlocking the cotyledons.

Distribution — India (Andaman and Nicobar Islands, North Andaman Islands, Saddle Peak National Park).

Habitat & Ecology — Banks of Kalpong River.

Phenology — Flowering and fruiting: January–May.

Additional specimen examined. INDIA, North Andaman Islands , Saddle Peak National Park , Kalpong River, M. V. Ramana 1188 ( CAL), N13°10'08.3" E92°58'05.9", 225 m alt., 18 Jan. 2012 .

Conservation status — The authors came across 4 small populations, each with not more than 3 individuals, on the Kalpong River bank in the National Park. The area is well protected with no perceived threats to the populations/habitats. The species may be treated under Data Deficient ( DD) category IUCN (2013).

Note — The authors examined the new species for comparison with species that have commonality in showing suborbicular-rotund leaves with terminal and axillary inflorescences ( Hooker 1879). The new species exhibits similarity with S. rotundifolium Arn. and S. sclerophyllum Thwaites (endem- ics to Sri Lanka) in broadly elliptic orbicular lamina, calyptrate flowers and globose berries with persistent enlarged calyx limb. But it is distinctive with smaller plants up to 5 m high (vs up to 10 m high), flattened young twigs (vs sharply quadrangular), longer petioles, 3–6 mm long (vs 1–3 mm long), few-flowered cymes mostly in leaf axils (vs many-flowered in terminal and axillary), visibly pellucid punctuate on under surface of leaf and floral parts (vs without pellucid punctuate), orbicular petals with short claw (vs elliptic-concave petals) and stamens up to 10 mm long (vs up to 4 mm long).

Figures

Fig. 3 Syzygium sanjappaiana M.V.Ramana. a. Habitat; b. habit; c. portion of the stem showing bark; d. leaves; e, f. inflorescence; g–i. berries unripened/ ripened. — Photos by M.V. Ramana.

Fig. 4 Syzygium sanjappaiana M.V.Ramana. a, b. Flower bud with calyptra and pseudocalyptra; c. flower bud after separation of calyptra and pseudocalyp- tra; d. open flower; e, f. calyptra dorsal and ventral sides; g, h. petals dorsal and ventral sides; i. stamen bundles; j, k. anther lobes ventral and dorsal sides; l. anther sacs; m. hypanthium with style; n. hypanthium longitudinal section; o. ovary longitudinal section. — Photos by Alok Chorghe.