A new species of Memecylon (Melastomataceae) from the Western Ghats, India

Sivu, Ambikabai Raghavanpillai; Narayanan, Matalai Kokkaramath Ratheesh; Pradeep, N. S.; Kumar, Ettickal Sukumaran Santhosh; Pandurangan, A. G.

doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.162.1.4

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…(2) Inflorescence position—(D) cauliflorous: Memecylon sp. (photo by I. Alawatta); (E) terminal: M. ponmudianum (source: Sivu et al, 2014); (F) axillary: M. natalense (photo by P. Amarasinghe). (3) Peduncle length—(G) long: M. gracillimum (photo by P. Amarasinghe); (H) medium: M. rivulare (photo by P. Amarasinghe); (I) short: M. flavescens (photo by N. Page).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution and biogeography of Memecylon

Amarasinghe

Joshi

Page

et al. 2021

American J of Botany

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Premise The woody plant group Memecylon (Melastomataceae) is a large clade occupying diverse forest habitats in the Old World tropics and exhibiting high regional endemism. Its phylogenetic relationships have been previously studied using ribosomal DNA with extensive sampling from Africa and Madagascar. However, divergence times, biogeography, and character evolution of Memecylon remain uninvestigated. We present a phylogenomic analysis of Memecylon to provide a broad evolutionary perspective of this clade. Methods One hundred supercontigs of 67 Memecylon taxa were harvested from target enrichment. The data were subjected to coalescent and concatenated phylogenetic analyses. A timeline was provided for Memecylon evolution using fossils and secondary calibration. The calibrated Memecylon phylogeny was used to elucidate its biogeography and ancestral character states. Results Relationships recovered by the phylogenomic analyses are strongly supported in both maximum likelihood and coalescent‐based species trees. Memecylon is inferred to have originated in Africa in the Eocene and subsequently dispersed predominantly eastward via long‐distance dispersal (LDD), although a reverse dispersal from South Asia westward to the Seychelles was postulated. Morphological data exhibited high levels of homoplasy, but also showed that several vegetative and reproductive characters were phylogenetically informative. Conclusions The current distribution of Memecylon appears to be the result of multiple ancestral LDD events. Our results demonstrate the importance of the combined effect of geographic and paleoclimatic factors in shaping the distribution of this group in the Old World tropics. Memecylon includes a number of evolutionarily derived morphological features that contribute to diversity within the clade.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution and biogeography of Memecylon

Amarasinghe

Joshi

Page

et al. 2021

American J of Botany

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“…The genus Memecylon L. belongs to the family Melastomataceae includes more than 300 species distributed mainly in the old world tropics (Renner et al, 2007). In India, it is represented by 34 species, of which 18 species are endemic to Western Ghats and four species are endangered (Gamble 1919, Sivu et al, 2014. Memecylon flavescens Gamble, is endemic to Western Ghats and categorised under 'Endangered' with IUCN Id-31203.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studies on the factors that restrict sexual reproduction and fruit setting in Memecylon flavescens – an endangered taxon

Tejavathi

Sumalatha

Nijagunaiah

et al. 2019

JTFE

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Memecylon flavescens Gamble is an endangered taxon of Nilgiri region of Western Ghats. Extensive survey in the study area- Avalanche, Ooty made during 2015-18 has revealed a few interesting aspects about the sexual reproductive cycle. Fruit setting is substantially very low though profuse flowering occurs. Flowers are hermaphrodite, actinomorphic, tetramerous, pin type and protogynous, favouring cross-pollination. Pollen fertility as assessed by Alexander’s differential staining is about 30%. Sections of flower buds have revealed the infestation by undescribed gallmidge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). In 90% of the flower buds observed, gall midge galleries are seen at various levels in the flower bud, destroying the reproductive organs by larval feeding. Hence, negligible fruit setting is mainly due to gallmidge infestation. Protogynous nature and low percent of pollen fertility are added factors aggravating the effect on fruit setting.

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“…While a number of these species have since been synonymised, the discovery of new species has increased the number of accepted taxa in India to 49 (Das Das et al, 2015). The southern peninsular region of India has been the focus of recent botanical works and accounts for 34 of the currently known species (Manickam et al, 2007;Sivu et al, 2014aSivu et al, , 2014b.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Memecylon cerasiforme (Melastomataceae): a poorly known species rediscovered, redescribed and newly recorded for India

Karthigeyan¹,

Das²,

Wijedasa³

2016

Gardens’ Bulletin Singapore

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ABSTRACT. The species Memecylon cerasiforme Kurz was previously known only from the type which was collected in Chittagong, Bangladesh. A recent collection of the species from the Jaldapara National Park, West Bengal, India is not only the first since the species was described in 1877 but also the first record of its occurrence in India and the first flowering collection. Its flowers can now be described and illustrated for the first time. An emended description, figure, phenological and habitat information, notes on related species, and a conservation assessment are also provided. The only original material available at Kew is designated here as a lectotype.

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A new species of Memecylon (Melastomataceae) from the Western Ghats, India

Cited by 7 publications

References 5 publications

Evolution and biogeography of Memecylon

Evolution and biogeography of Memecylon

Studies on the factors that restrict sexual reproduction and fruit setting in Memecylon flavescens – an endangered taxon

Memecylon cerasiforme (Melastomataceae): a poorly known species rediscovered, redescribed and newly recorded for India

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