A new species of Salacia is described from Karnataka and Kerala states of the Western Ghats, India. It is unique within the genus on account of its obliquely dehiscing anthers and 7–10 cm long, prolate to broadly ellipsoid or ovoid, keeled, greenish‐yellow 5‐ to 8‐seeded fruit with thin epicarp and dry mesocarp. Salacia megacarpa sp. nov. can be grouped with S. fruticosa Heyne ex M.A.Lawson and S. oblonga Wight & Arn. which are the only other species from the sub‐continent which exhibit axillary, ramiflorous, dichotomously branched cymes.
Keywords: branched cymes, dry mesocarp, ellipsoid fruits, endemic, prolate, Salacia
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| Figure 1: Salacia megacarpa sp. nov. (A) flowering twig, (B) inflorescence, (C) flower, (D) sepal, (E) petal, (F) stamen, (G) fruit, (H) seed. Illustration: Mayur Nandikar. |
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| Figure 2: Salacia megacarpa sp. nov. (A) habit, (B) inflorescence, (C) flower, (D) fruit and seeds.
Photographs by Navendu Page and Mayur Nandikar.
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Salacia megacarpa N.V.Page & Nandikar sp. nov.
Diagnostic characters: A species recognised by its axillary and ramiflorous, branched, 3‐ to 6‐flowered cymes, elliptic‐oblong petals, obliquely dehiscing anthers, large 7–10 cm long, prolate to broadly ellipsoid, or ovoid, distinctly keeled, greenish‐yellow, 5‐ to 8‐seeded fruit with dry mesocarp, thin epicarp and triangular to ovoid or ellipsoid, truncate, ochreous seeds covered with faint reticular meshes.
Etymology: The specific epithet refers to the large fruits; the largest among Indian Salacia .
Navendu V. Page and Mayur D. Nandikar. 2020. A Remarkable New Species of Salacia (Celastraceae: Salacioideae) from the Western Ghats, India. Nordic Journal of Botany. 38(4). DOI: 10.1111/njb.02647
