OPEN ACCESS The Journal of Threatened Taxa is dedicated to building evidence for conservation globally by publishing peer-reviewed articles online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All articles published in JoTT are registered under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License unless otherwise mentioned. JoTT allows unrestricted use of articles in any medium, reproduction, and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Journal of Threatened Taxa Building evidence for conservation globally www.threatenedtaxa.org ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) Note A new record of the Malay Cardamom Amomum aculeatum Roxb. (Zingiberaceae) for mainland India Sameer Chandrakant Patil & P. Lakshminarasimhan 26 November 2018 | Vol. 10 | No. 13 | Pages: 12850–12853 10.11609/jott.4227.10.13.12850-12853 For Focus, Scope, Aims, Policies and Guidelines visit https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-0 For Article Submission Guidelines visit https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions For Policies against Scientific Misconduct visit https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/about/editorialPolicies#custom-2 For reprints contact <info@threatenedtaxa.org> Publisher & Host Partners Member Threatened Taxa Note Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 November 2018 | 10(13): 12850–12853 Zingiberaceae, with 53 genera and 1,377 species (Kong et al. 2010) is widely distributed in tropical areas. Amomum Roxb., ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) the second largest genus of the family with ca. 150 species has its OPEN ACCESS distribution along tropical Asia to Australia (Mabberley 2008). In India, the members of the genus are mainly restricted to northeastern India, peninsular India, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Thomas & Sabu 2012). Hooker (1894) listed 48 species in the Flora of British India. Thomas et al. (2010) reported ca. 22 species from India. Sabu (2006) reported six species for southern India. Recent exploration by V.P. Thomas (2009–2018), M. Sabu (1990–2018) and V.S. Hareesh VS (2013–2018) has added 11 species and one variety to Indian flora, which takes the total count to 33 species and one variety of Amomum in India. During a recent floristic exploration along the Western Ghats of Karnataka, the first author collected specimens belonging to the genus Amomum Roxb. After critical study and scrutiny of literature and herbarium materials, the collected specimen was identified as Amomum aculeatum. The species was first described by Roxburgh in 1810 from the Malay Archipelago. Later, Kurz collected the species in 1866 from the South Andaman Islands during his voyages to Southeast Asia. In recent times N.G. Nair recollected the species in 1976 from the South Andaman Islands and N. Bhargava from the Little Andaman Islands (Balakrishnan & Nair 1979; Pandey & Diwakar 2008). Hence, the present collection of the species from Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, A new record of the Malay Cardamom Amomum aculeatum Roxb. (Zingiberaceae) for mainland India Sameer Patil 1 1,2 & P. Lakshminarasimhan 2 Botanical Survey of India, Western Regional Centre, 7 Koregaon Road, Pune, Maharashtra 411001, India 1 sameerpatil.c@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2 lakshminarasimhanp@yahoo.co.in Kodagu, Karnataka (12.6330N & 75.6540E); stands as a new record of this species in the wild for mainland India (southern Western Ghats) (Fig. 1). A brief description and photographs along with distribution are provided here. Amomum aculeatum (Image 1) Roxb. in Asiat. Res. 11: 344, t.6.1810 & Fl. Ind., Carey & Wall. Ed. 1: 40. 1820; Baker in Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 6: 243. 1892; Holtt. in Gard. Bull. Sing. 13: 212. 1950; Baker & Bakh. f., Fl. Java 3: 54. 1968; N.P. Balakr. & N.G. Nair in J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 76: 196. 1979; Vasudeva Rao in J. Econ. Taxon Bot. 8: 151. 1986; Karthik. & al. Fl. Ind. Enum. Monocot. 290. 1989. A. aculeatum var. gymnocarpum Valeton in Nova Guinea 8: 926. 1913. A. aculeatum var. macrocarpum Valeton in Nova Guinea 8: 927. 1913. A. aurantiacum Ridl. in J. Fed. Malay States Mus. 10: 153. 1920. A. ciliatum Blume in Enum. Pl. Javae 49. 1827. A. flavum Ridl. in J. Straits Branch Roy. Asiat. Soc. 32: 133. 1899. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4227.10.13.12850-12853 Editor: N.P. Balakrishnan, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India Date of publication: 26 November 2018 (online & print) Manuscript details: Ms # 4227 | Received 02 May 2018 | Final received 11 October 2018 | Finally accepted 30 October 2018 Citation: Patil, S. & P. Lakshminarasimhan (2018). A new record of the Malay Cardamom Amomum aculeatum Roxb. (Zingiberaceae) for mainland India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 10(13): 12850–12853; https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4227.10.13.12850-12853 Copyright: © Patil & Lakshminarasimhan 2018. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. Funding: In house project Botanical Survey of India, Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Acknowledgements: The authors are thankful to The Director, BSI, Kolkata for encouragement and facilities. We are also grateful to Dr. Lal Ji Singh, BSI, Port Blair. The authors are also thankful to the forest officials of Kodagu, Karnataka state forest for timely co-operation in field tours. 12850 Record of Malay Cardamom from mainland India Herbs, 2.5-3.5 m high; rhizome branched, yellowishbrown within; pseudo-stems 2.5–3.5 cm thick, reddish at base. Leaves distichous, 40–60 x 7–12 cm, elliptic or lanceolate, cuneate at base, acuminate at apex, glabrous; petioles short; ligules ca. 1cm long, bifid. Inflorescence many; peduncles 12–22 cm long; sterile bracts 4–5 x 2.5–3.5 cm, spirally arranged, ovate, cuspidate, red; spikes 7.5 x 4–7 cm, oblong; floral bracts 4.5–5.5 x 2–2.5 cm, ovate, slightly notched at apex, reddish-purple; bracteolate 1.2–1.4 cm long, tubular, pinkish-purple; pedicels 2–3 x 4–5 mm. Calyx 2.5–3 cm long, tabular, 3-keeled, puberulous on keels towards apex, red; limb bilobed, ca. 5mm long, ovate. Corolla 4.1–4.6 cm long, trilobed, white; lateral lobes 2.5–2.8 x 1–1.2 cm, elliptic-oblong, obtuse to subacute; median lobe 2.5–3 x 2.5–3 cm, obovate, obtuse, boat shaped. Labellum 3.5–4 x 3.8–4.2 cm, wedge-shaped, undulate-crispate at margin, white with thick yellow red-striated median band, trilobed at apex; lateral Patil & Lakshminarasimhan lobes ca. 1.5 x 2 cm, rounded, hyaline; median lobe 6–8 x 8–10 mm, triangular, obtuse, subacute, sometimes bilobed, hyaline, white with two thick yellow spots at middle. Staminodes 2, 4–5 mm long, linear-subulate, attached at the base of lip. Anthers 1–1.3 x 0.5–0.6 cm, puberulous; crest 0.5–0.6 x 1.5–1.7 cm, trilobed, white; lateral lobes orbicular; median lobe truncate, rounded or irregularly crenate at apex; filament 1.2–1.4 x 0.3–0.4 cm, linear, flat, glabrous. Ovary 0.4–0.5 x 0.3–0.4 cm, puberulous, pink; ovules numerous; style 4.2–4.5 cm long, puberulous; stigma 0.1 x 0.2 cm, cup-shaped, dorso-ventrally compressed, puberulous. Stylodes 2–3 mm long, fleshy, cream colored, many lobed. Flowering & Fruiting: April–June. Habitat: Primary forests at an elevation up to 800m. Distribution: India [Andaman Is. (Kurz, Nair, Bhargava) and Karnataka (present study)], Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and, New Guinea. Specimens examined: (K, CAL), s.n., 23.ix.1867, India, Image 1. Amomum aculeatum Roxb.: distribution map (georeferenced) Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 November 2018 | 10(13): 12850–12853 12851 Record of Malay Cardamom from mainland India Patil & Lakshminarasimhan Image 1. Amomum aculeatum Roxb.: A - plant habit, B - inflorescence, C - leaf, D - single flower; E - flower parts (disected), F - corolla lobes, G - labellum, H - staminode (trilobed) along with stylode protruding from another lobes. © Sameer Patil 12852 Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 November 2018 | 10(13): 12850–12853 Record of Malay Cardamom from mainland India Andaman & Nicobar Islands, South Andaman Island, coll. S. Kurz; 119, 06.iii.1903, Andamans, C.G. Rogers (CAL); 3751, 15.v.1976, Ferrargunj, N.G. Nair (CAL) & 3752, 15.v.1976, Ferrargunj, N.G. Nair (CAL, PBL); 4133, 14.viii.1976, way to forest nursery, Little Andaman, N. Bhargava (PBL); 206709, 04.iv.2017, towards waterhole Marigundi, Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Kodagu, Karnataka, 12.6330N & 75.6540E, c. 270m, coll. Sameer Patil (BSI - Botanical Survey of India, Western Regional Centre, Pune). Notes: The Andaman aborigines use plants of A. aculeatum for tranquilizing the giant rock bees Apis dorsata and harvest honey from their hives without protective apparels, while the bees remain docile. Patil & Lakshminarasimhan References Balakrishnan, N.P. & N.G. Nair (1979). The genus Amomum Roxb. (Zingiberaceae) in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 76: 196–199, ff. 1–2. (publ. 1980). Hooker, J.D. (1894). Flora of British India - Vol. 1–7. Reeve and Co. Ltd., London. Kong, J.J., Y.M. Xia & Q.J. Li (2010). Inflorescence and flower development in Hedychieae (Zingiberaceae): Hedychium coccineum Smith. Protoplasma 274: 83–90. Mabberley, D.J. (2008). Mabberley’s Plant-Book: A Portable Dictionary of Plants, Their Classification and Uses, 3rd Edition. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 38pp. Pandey, R.P. & P.G. Diwakar (2008). An integrated check-list flora of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 32: 403–500. Sabu, M. (2006). Zingiberaceae and Costaceae of South India. Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy, Calicut University, Kerala. Thomas, V.P. & M. Sabu (2012). Two new species of Amomum (Zingiberaceae) from Western Ghats, India. Edinburgh Journal of Botany 69: 313–321. Thomas, V.P., M. Dan, M. Sabu & M.A. Jabbar (2010). Amomum andamanicum (Zingiberaceae): a new species from Andaman Islands, India. Blumea 55: 295–299. Threatened Taxa Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 November 2018 | 10(13): 12850–12853 12853 OPEN ACCESS The Journal of Threatened Taxa is dedicated to building evidence for conservation globally by publishing peer-reviewed articles online every month at a reasonably rapid rate at www.threatenedtaxa.org. All articles published in JoTT are registered under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License unless otherwise mentioned. JoTT allows unrestricted use of articles in any medium, reproduction, and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication. ISSN 0974-7907 (Online); ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) www.threatenedtaxa.org November 2018 | Vol. 10 | No. 13 | Pages: 12715–12858 Date of Publication: 26 November 2018 (Online & Print) DOI: 10.11609/jott.2018.10.13.12715-12858 Articles The pattern of bird distribution along the elevation gradient of the Sutlej River basin, western Himalaya, India -- Balraj Santhakumar, P. Ramachandran Arun, Ramapurath Kozhummal Sony, Maruthakutti Murugesan & Chinnasamy Ramesh, Pp. 12715–12725 Morphological variations in marine pufferfish and porcupinefish (Teleostei: Tetraodontiformes) from Tamil Nadu, southeastern coast of India --K. Kaleshkumar, R. Rajaram, P. Purushothaman & G. Arun, Pp. 12726–12737 Communications Possible range decline of Ganges River Dolphin Platanista gangetica (Mammalia: Cetartiodactyla: Platanistidae) in Indian Sundarban -- Sangita Mitra & Mahua Roy Chowdhury, Pp. 12738–12748 Retrospective study on epidemiology of snakebites in Sarpang District, southern Bhutan -- Bal Krishna Koirala, Jaganath Koirala & Sunil Sapkota, Pp. 12749–12754 Individual identification of Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Schneider, 1799) (Amphibia: Anura: Bufonidae) based on dorsal wart patterns -- Uddalak Tathagato Bindhani & Abhijit Das, Pp. 12755–12768 A preliminary checklist of butterflies from the northern Eastern Ghats with notes on new and significant species records including three new reports for peninsular India -- Rajkamal Goswami, Ovee Thorat, Vikram Aditya & Seena Narayanan Karimbumkara, Pp. 12769–12791 Odonata of eastern Bangladesh with three new records for the country -- M. Kawsar Khan, Pp. 12821–12827 Two new species of phytoseid mites Euseius (Acari: Phytoseiidae) from Kerala, India -- P.P. Santhosh, Mary Anithalatha Sadanandan & M.P. Rahul, Pp. 12828– 12832 Notes First photographic record of tiger presence at higher elevations of the Mishmi Hills in the Eastern Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot, Arunachal Pradesh, India -- Aisho Sharma Adhikarimayum & G.V. Gopi, Pp. 12833–12836 An old collection reveals an additional distribution record of the Greater Long-tongued Fruit Bat Macroglossus sobrinus K. Anderson, 1911 (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) from southern West Bengal, India -- Tauseef Hamid Dar, M. Kamalakannan, C. Venkatraman & Kailash Chandra, Pp. 12837–12839 Breeding reports and conservation implications of the Endangered Black-bellied Tern Sterna acuticauda J.E. Gray, 1831 (Aves: Charadriiformes: Laridae) in Odisha, eastern India -- Tuhinansu Kar, Himanshu Shekhar Palei & Subrat Debata, Pp. 12840–12843 A first record of the Redbelly Yellowtail Fusilier Caesio cuning (Bloch, 1791) (Teleostei: Caesionidae) from Visakhapatnam coastal waters, India -- Muddula Krishna Naranji, Govinda Rao Velamala & Kondamudi Ramesh Babu, Pp. 12844–12846 Aquatic and semi aquatic Hemiptera community of Sonebeel, the largest wetland of Assam, northeastern India -- Anupama Saha & Susmita Gupta, Pp. 12792–12799 A record after 92 years, and a first report of the moth Mecodina metagrapta Hampson, 1926 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Aganainae) from the Western Ghats’ part of Maharashtra, India -- Aparna Sureshchandra Kalawate, Pp. 12847–12849 Short Communications A new record of the Malay Cardamom Amomum aculeatum Roxb. (Zingiberaceae) for mainland India -- Sameer Chandrakant Patil & P. Lakshminarasimhan, Pp. 12850–12853 First record of colour aberration in Basra Reed Warbler Acrocephalus griseldis (Hartlaub, 1891) (Passeriformes: Acrocephalidae) from Central Marshes of southern Iraq, with notes on its intraspecific/interspecific behavior -- Omar F. Al-Sheikhly, Mukhtar K. Haba, Nadheer A. Faza’a & Ra’ad H. Al-Asady, Pp. 12800–12804 Avian fauna of Amboli Ghat, Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra State, India -- Varun Satose, Vikrant Choursiya, Rakesh Deulkar & Sasikumar Menon, Pp. 12805–12816 DNA barcoding and morphological characterization of moth Antoculeora ornatissima (Walker, 1858) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), a new range record from western Himalayan region of India -- Twinkle Sinha, P.R. Shashank & Pratima Chaudhuri Chattopadhyay, Pp. 12817– 12820 New distribution records of the leopard plants Ligularia amplexicaulis DC. and Ligularia sibirica (L.) Cass. (Asteraceae) in the Indian Himalaya -- Bikarma Singh, Sumit Singh & Bishander Singh, Pp. 12854–12858 Miscellaneous National Biodiversity Authority Member Publisher & Host Partners Threatened Taxa