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| Didymocarpus sinoindicus N.S.Prasanna, Lei Cai & V.Gowda in Prasanna, Liu, Saryan, ... et Gowda, 2020. (photos by Lei Cai, De-Tuan Liu & Preeti Saryan). |
Abstract
We describe a new species of Gesneriaceae, Didymocarpus sinoindicus N.S.Prasanna, Lei Cai & V.Gowda from India and China with detailed morphological description, diagnostic characters, illustrations, and colour photographs. The new species is morphologically similar to D. oblongus Wall. ex D.Don, D. hookeri C.B.Clarke, and D. adenocalyx W.T.Wang, but can be easily distinguished from them by its remarkable creamy-white to greenish-yellow sepals and petals and characteristic purple striations on corolla lobes.
Keywords: Kingdon-Ward, Nagaland, Northeast India,
Saramati hills, Tengchong, Yunnan.
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| Fig. 1. Didymocarpus sinoindicus N.S.Prasanna, Lei Cai & V.Gowda in India: a. Habitat; b. Habit; c. Whole plant with inflorescence and infructescence; d. Inflorescence; e. Glands on the abaxial surface of leaves; f. Cyme with fruits; g. Young fruit (photos by Preeti Saryan). |
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| Fig. 2. Didymocarpus sinoindicus N.S.Prasanna, Lei Cai & V.Gowda in China: a. Habitat; b. Fruits; c. Plants with flowers and old fruits; d. Inflorescence and adaxial leaf surface; e. Mouth of a flower; f. Front view of corolla; g. Lateral view of flower showing calyx and bracts; h. Pistil with calyx and disc; i. Opened corolla showing internal structure; j. Stamens and staminodes (photos by Lei Cai & De-Tuan Liu). |
Didymocarpus sinoindicus N.S.Prasanna, Lei Cai
& V.Gowda, sp. nov.
Didymocarpus sinoindicus is morphologically similar to
D. oblongus Wall. ex D.Don, but differs from it in having
longer petioles (1.5–6.5 cm vs. 0.2–1.5 cm long),
bicrenate or serrate leaf margins (vs. serrate to doubly
serrate), and creamy-white to greenish-yellow (vs.
purplish) corolla tube. It differs from D. hookeri
C.B.Clarke in having shorter stems (2–8 cm vs. 4–17 cm
long), and glabrous (vs. pubescent) corolla tubes. The
new species differs from D. adenocalyx W.T.Wang in
having glandular pedicels and calyces (vs. eglandular),
and shorter corolla tubes (0.7–1 cm vs. c. 1.4 cm long).
Distribution: Currently, it is known from only two
locations in India and one location in China, all of
them bordering Myanmar. In India, the type
locality is near the base camp of Mount Saramati in
Kiphire district in the northeastern state of
Nagaland. There is a historical collection site on
the nearby Japvo ridge in Nagaland. In China, it is
found in Danzha Village of Tengchong in Yunnan
Province. It is likely to be present in the high
elevation areas of Sagaing and Kachin states of
northern Myanmar due to its similar habitat and
proximity to the type locality.
Etymology: The specific epithet ‘sinoindicus’ refers
to the two collection localities from where the
species has been collected and is known until now
(China and India). It also acknowledges the
serendipitous, simultaneous description of this
species from two different research groups from
India and China which happened to arrive at the
same conclusions.
Prasanna N.S., Liu D.T., Saryan P., Duan S.Z., Cai L. and V. Gowda. 2020. Didymocarpus sinoindicus (Gesneriaceae), A New Species from India and China. Rheedea. 30(1); 135–142. DOI: 10.22244/rheedea.2020.30.01.07
