Utricularia kumtensis Kanoj, Patgar, Betageri, & Kotresha, 2025

Kanoj, Manjushree Suresh, Patgar, Vanaja Ganapati, Betageri, Shreyas & Katrahalli, Kotresha, 2025, Utricularia kumtensis (Lentibulariaceae): a new species from Konkan region of Uttara Kannada District, Karnataka, Phytotaxa 712 (1), pp. 67-74 : 68-73

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.712.1.6
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16714856
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03E2924C-FF83-FF93-FF4B-FF71FE227439
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Utricularia kumtensis Kanoj, Patgar, Betageri, & Kotresha
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Utricularia kumtensis Kanoj, Patgar, Betageri, & Kotresha sp. nov., Figs. 1–2 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2

Type: India, Karnataka: Uttara Kannada district, Kumta taluk, Mirjan , Mirjan Fort , N 14°23’56.7”, E 74°24’45.6”, 84 msl., 29 October 2024, Manjushree S. Kanoj & Vanaja G. Patgar [holotype University of Agricultural Science, Bangalore ( UASB 5763 View Materials ); isotype Karnatak Science College, Karnatak University, Dharwad ( HKSCD 20731 )] GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis: Utricularia kumtensis is similar to U. striatula and U. furcellata , but can easily be distinguished by small habit, half-opened flower, tri-lobed lower petal with yellowish tinge, small spur, seed surface structure ( Table 1, Figs. 3–4 View FIGURE 3 View FIGURE 4 ).

Description: Lithophytic small herbs up to 2–4 cm tall, in small patches. Stolons up to 3–4 cm long. Foliar organs on the stolon, obovate 6–8 mm long, spatula-shaped. Bladders transparent white, reticulate surface, lateral opening with appendages, 1 mm long. Inflorescence raceme, 1–3 cm tall, maximum 3–5 flowers. Flower whitish to pale pink, half-open, very small, 1 × 1 mm, Lobes not visible. Calyx two-lobed, one larger with undulate margins and linear lines towards lobes and one smaller having Undulate margins twice as small as upper lobe. Corolla two-lobed, upper one smaller, irregular at apex lower lobe larger and not open at all, 3-lobed, having minor yellowish tinge at centre. Spur 1–2 mm long, with acute apex, reduced like beak. Stamens two, linear, pollens yellow. Ovary ovoid, balloon like, with pinhead stigma tip. Capsule balloon like covered in calyx. Seeds attached to placentum radially, linear, obovoidlanceolate shape, brownish grey, glochidate.

Flowering & Fruiting: October–November.

Habitat & Ecology: On the moist wall of the lateritic mirjan Mirjan fort, with many individuals in separate small patches. It is associated with Selaginella sp. , Conscora diffusa, Adiantum sp.

Distribution: Known from on Mirjan Fort of Kumta, Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, India.

Etymology: The specific epithet ‘ kumtensis ’ is derived from ‘ Kumta taluk ’ where Mirajan Fort, Kumta taluk, as this species is present in one location of that fort wall, where the type specimen was collected in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka.

Conservation Status: After many field visits and surveys in 5 km surrounding Mirjan fort on the lateritic brick compound walls, we could not find the species in other sites. Nearly more than 1000 individuals from the fort wall only were recorded. As newly described species are attributed to different IUCN (2024) categories, as CR ( El Zein & Bottcher 2024), EN ( Brullo et al. 2015), VU ( Swanepoel et al. 2021), NT ( Perrino et al. 2018), LC ( Siti-Munirah & Dome 2023), we prefer to assign Utricularia kumtensis to the category Data Deficient (DD),due to lack of knowledge of this species ( IUCN, 2025).