Lepidagathis mahakassapae sp. nov. (Acanthaceae: Barlerieae) from the high elevated Lateritic Plateau of northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Lepidagathis mahakassapae sp. nov., a monocarpic and endemic species of Acanthaceae, is described from Western Maharashtra, India. The new species is allied to L. sabui from Konkan, Maharashtra, but differs by having oblanceolate acuminate leaves, pubescent terminal elongated spikes, large floral but small sterile bracts and lanceolate broader segment of the bracteole. The stems of L. mahakassapae grows up to 250 cm in length while a few other prostrate species grows up to this length. Illustrations and colour photographs are provided for ease of identification.

Two new species of Lepidagathis Willd. (Acanthaceae: Barlerieae) from India

“…This is probably owing to their unique geological and ecological specializations, soil availability, water availability and environmental extremes (Kulkarni et al, 2022). In the last five years, a total of six new species have been described from these lateritic plateaus (Natekar et al, 2019;Biju et al, 2020;Borude et al, 2020;Chandore et al, 2020;More et al, 2022More et al, , 2023, which corroborates the need to designate the lateritic plateaus (rocky outcrops) as one of the major centres of species diversity in India. Besides these new species, the detailed taxonomy of two low-elevation lateritic plateau species that are endemic to Kerala, L. ananthapuramensis V.S.A.Kumar, P.Biju, Sindhu Arya, Josekutty & Augustine and L. keralensis Madhus.…”

Two new heterotypic synonyms in Lepidagathis Willd. (Acanthaceae: Barlerieae) from India

“…Intensive field exploration has been carried out across India during 2021-2023, especially in type localities to collect Lepidagathis species based on data taken from specimens housed in various herbaria and the published literature (Nees von Esenbeck, 1832, 1841, 1847Dalzell, 1850Dalzell, , 1851Anderson, 1867;Clarke, 1885;Cooke, 1905;Gamble, 1924) including the protologues of recently described species (Madhusoodanan & Singh, 1992;Remadevi & Binojkumar, 2008;Jithin & Jose, 2017;Natekar et al, 2019;Biju et al, 2020;Borude et al, 2020;Chandore et al, 2020;Prasad & Reddy, 2020;Dhatchanamoorthy et al, 2022;More et al, 2022More et al, , 2023Brahmadande & Nandikar, 2023;Gnanasekaran et al, 2023b). Detailed descriptions documenting the complete range of morphological variation for all species under consideration (L. decumbens Dhatchan.…”

Lepidagathis spinosa (Barlerieae: Acanthaceae), a steno-endemic species of Tamil Nadu, India: its taxonomy, lectotypification and distribution

“…(Barlerieae: Acanthaceae) is distributed mainly in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world with 147 accepted species (POWO, 2022). It is represented by 30 species and seven varieties in India (Arisdason et al, 2020;Biju et al, 2020;Chandore et al, 2020;Prasad & Reddy, 2020;More et al, 2022), of which 18 species and one variety are endemic.…”