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

Abstract

The taxonomy of Lepidagathis spinosa Wight ex Nees (Barlerieae: Acanthaceae), a little-known endemic species from Tamil Nadu is discussed with a detailed description, colour photographs, light and scanning electron micrographs and IUCN conservation status. Besides, the name L. spinosa is lectotypified here and a digital image of the lectotype specimen is provided. Furthermore, this study confirms that the earlier report of occurrence of this species from the states of Karnataka and Kerala is based on mistakenly identified specimens of L. incurva Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don.

Taxonomy and lectotypification of Lepidagathis hamiltoniana (Acanthaceae: Barlerieae), an endemic species of India

“…(Acanthaceae: Barlerieae) is distributed in pantropical and subtropical regions (Manzitto-Tripp et al, 2021), with 151 accepted species globally (POWO, 2023). The genus is represented by 31 species and seven varieties in India, of which 19 species and one variety are endemic (Arisdason et al, 2020;Gnanasekaran et al, 2022Gnanasekaran et al, , 2023.…”