ISSN 1560–7259 (print edition) Turczaninowia 25, 4: 164–168 (2022) DOI: 10.14258/turczaninowia.25.4.18 http://turczaninowia.asu.ru TURCZANINOWIA ISSN 1560–7267 (online edition) УДК 582.998:581.95(1-925.36)(540) First record of the Himalayan endemic species Ainsliaea fulvipes (Asteraceae) from India S. Panday1, 4, S. S. Dash2, 5, V. Kumar3, 6* 1 Budge Budge College, Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das Rd., 7, Budge Budge, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700137, India 2 3 Botanical Survey of India, CGO Complex, Sector 1, Salt Lake City, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700064, India CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Post Box No. 6, Palampur (H.P.), Himachal Pradesh, 176061, India 6 4 ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4647-8010 5 ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6754-2600 E-mail: vikas@ihbt.res.in; ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0312-8849 * Corresponding author Keywords: Arunachal Pradesh, endemic, flora, India, new record. Summary. The species Ainsliaea fulvipes Jeffrey et W. W. Sm. (Asteraceae) erstwhile considered as endemic to China is reported here first time from Zemithang, Arunachal Pradesh (India). Detailed descriptions, along with habitat photographs are provided to facilitate its easy identification. Первая находка эндемичного для Гималаев вида Ainsliaea fulvipes (Asteraceae) из Индии С. Пандай1, С. С. Даш2, В. Кумар3 1 Колледж Баджа Баджа, Бадж Бадж, 7, улица Дешбандху Читтаранджан Дас, г. Калькутта, Западная Бенгалия, 700137, Индия 2 Ботаническая служба Индии, комплекс CGO, сектор 1, Солт-Лейк-Сити, г. Калькутта, Западная Бенгалия, 700064, Индия 3 CSIR-Институт технологии биоресурсов Гималаев, Почтовый ящик № 6, г. Палампур, Химачал-Прадеш, 176061, Индия Ключевые слова: Аруначал-Прадеш, Индия, новая находка, флора, эндемик. Аннотация. Вид Ainsliaea fulvipes Jeffrey et W.W. Sm. (Asteraceae), ранее считавшийся эндемиком Китая, здесь впервые приводится из Земитанга, штат Аруначал-Прадеш (Индия). Подробные описания, а также фотографии местообитаний представлены для облегчения идентификации. Introduction The genus Ainsliaea DC. comprises ca. 53 taxa, and its native range is Afghanistan to Temp. E. Asia and W. and Central Malesia (POWO, 2022). All the Поступило в редакцию 19.04.2022 Принято к публикации 12.12.2022 taxa of the Ainsliaea are characterized by perennial herb; leaves rosulate, usually arranged at the middle of the stem; capitula few-flowered, arranged in spikes or panicles; flowers slightly zygomorphic; corolla deeply 5-lobed with unilateral lobes (Freire, 2007). Submitted 19.04.2022 Accepted 12.12.2022 Turczaninowia 25, 4: 164–168 (2022) The genus Ainsliaea is allied to Macroclinidium Maxim., Myripnois Bunge, and Pertya Sch. Bip., but it can be easily distinguished by the presence of plumose pappus instead of scabrid pappus, which are found in the latter three genera (Freire, 2007). In India, five species viz. A. angustifolia Hook. f. et Thomson ex C. B. Clarke, A. aptera DC., A. apteroides (C. C. Chang) Y. C. Tseng, A. latifolia (D. Don) Sch. Bip., and A. spicata Vaniot are known to occur in the Himalayan region (Hooker, 1981; Rao, 1995; Freire, 2007; BSI, 2022). During a botanical exploration tour to Zemithang, Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh, an interesting plant was collected from sub-alpine forest floor near a small water reservoir. After consultation of authentic literature (Freire, 2002, 2007; Gao et al., 2011), critical examination of live specimens and herbarium specimens housed at CAL, ARUN, ASSAM and images from herbaria such as K and S, it was identified as Ainsliaea fulvipes Jeffrey et W. W. Sm., hitherto not reported from India (Rao, 1995; Chowdhery et al., 1996; BSI, 2022). The species Ainsliaea fulvipes is considered to be endemic to the China (POWO, 2022), which is allied to A. angustata C. C. Chang. Both the species Fig. 1. Habitat of Ainsliaea fulvipes. 165 have basal rosettes leaves with long densely strigose petiole. However, A. fulvipes can be easily segregated by its oblong to elliptic leaf blades with obtuse to rounded apex, pilose phyllaries and rounded anther appendages, whereas A. angustata is characterized by linear to elliptic lamina with acute apex, glabrous phyllaries and acuminate anther appendages (Freire, 2007). The present collections from Arunachal Pradesh confirm its extended distribution in India. The species is enumerated here with a detailed description, field photographs, and image of the voucher herbarium specimen. A key based on the diagnostic characters of all the Indian species are also given here for easy understanding. Material and methods The photographs of habit were taken using NikonCoolpix B700 digital camera. The dissected floral parts were examined under Olympus stereozoom microscope SZ-61. The herbarium was prepared as per the standard method and the voucher specimen was deposited at Botanical Survey of India, Central National Herbarium, Howrah. Panday S. et al. First record of Ainsliaea fulvipes (Asteraceae) from India 166 Systematic accounts Ainsliaea fulvipes Jeffrey et W. W. Sm., 1914, Notes Roy. Bot. Gard. Edinburgh 8: 175. Type: “China, Yunnan, Teng-yueh, 7000 ft., May, 1912, G. Forrest 7862” (S); lectotype designated by S. E. Freire in Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 94: 123. 2007; isolectotype K (K000768816). Description. Herbs, perennial, 15–30 cm high. Stem erect, unbranched, much reduced. Leaves clustered at base of stem, rosette; petiole 3–6 cm long, pubescent, without wing; lamina elliptic or sub-ovate, 3–7 × 1–5 cm, subcoriaceous, both dorsal and ventral surfaces strigose, rounded at base, margin faintly denticulate, obtuse at apex. Synflorescence axis solitary. Capitula shortly pedunculate, 1–3; involucre cylindric, 3–4 mm across; phyllaries 4–5-seriate, sub-leathery, abaxially pilose, purple, outer phyllaries ovate, ca. 2.5 mm long, inner phyllaries lanceolate, 6–10 mm long. Florets 3, bisexual. Corolla shortly 5-lobed, tubular, ca. 3.5 mm, purple. Anthers ca. 2 mm, sagittate. Style short, shallowly divided at apex. Achenes oblong, pilose, ca. 4 mm long; pappus ca. 5 mm long. Fig. 2. Appearance of Ainsliaea fulvipes: A – an immature plant; B – close-up of rosette leaves; C – a plant with a single flower; D – close-up of flowers. Turczaninowia 25, 4: 164–168 (2022) Fig. 3. Voucher herbarium of Ainsliaea fulvipes. 167 168 Panday S. et al. First record of Ainsliaea fulvipes (Asteraceae) from India Flowering and Fruiting: June–November. Habitat: The species found growing on the lower portion of moss-covered old moist trunk of Rhododendron arboreum in sub-alpine shady forest in association with Circaea alpina, Impatiens stenantha, Viola pilosa, Hymenophyllum sp., Selaginella sp., etc. Distribution: INDIA: Arunachal Pradesh (present report); CHINA (Guangdong, Sichuan, Yunnan). Specimen examined: “India, Arunachal Pradesh, Tawang, Zemithang (near Limpo), 27°41'30.10''N, 91°45'12.35''E, 3166 m. 26 IIV 2018. V. Kumar, S. Panday. 88040” (CAL!). Key to the Indian species of the genus Ainsliaea: 1. Leaf blades uniformly narrowed at the base; base attenuate ...................................... A. angustifolia + Leaf blades abruptly narrowed into the petiole; base rounded or cordate ........................................... 2 2. Petioles 4–10 mm long ...................... A. spicata + Petioles more than 10 mm .............................. 3 3. Petioles winged ................................. A. latifolia + Petioles wingless ............................................... 4 4. Leaf base rounded; apex rounded-subobtuse; phyllaries pilose ......................................... A. fulvipes + Leaf base cordate; apex acute-acuminate; phyllaries usually glabrous (or with glandular trichomes in A. aptera) ............................................. 5 5. Leaf margins dentate; anther appendages rounded in chasmogamous florets ............. A. aptera + Leaf margins shallowly denticulate; anther appendages truncate in chasmogamous florets ........ ................................................................ A. apteroides Acknowledgements We are grateful to the Director, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata for facilities; Forest Department, Arunachal Pradesh for giving permission and logistic support during fieldwork. Authors SP and VK are thankful to the Principle, Budge Budge College, Kolkata and Director, CSIR-IHBT, Palampur respectively for their encouragement. Author VK is also thankful to Dr. S. E. Freire, Argentina for confirming the identity of the species. This study was funded by the MoEFCC, New Delhi under the NMHS scheme (NMHS/2015–16/LG-05). REFERENCES BSI [2022]. “Ainsliaea” on The Flora of India: An Annotated Checklist: Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata. URL: https://efloraIndia.gov.in/ (Accessed 01 March 2022). Chowdhery H. J., Giri G. S., Pal G. D., Pramanik A., Das S. K. 1996. Asteraceae. In: G. S. Giri, A. Pramanik, H. J. Chowdhery (eds.). Materials for the flora of Arunachal Pradesh (Asteraceae – Ceratophyllaceae). Vol. 2. Kolkata: Botanical Survey of India. Pp. 1–53. Freire S. E. 2002. Two new species of Ainsliaea (Asteraceae, Mutisieae) from China and Vietnam. Novon 12: 451– 455. Freire S. E. 2007. Systematic revision and phylogeny of Ainsliaea DC. (Asteraceae, Mutisieae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 94: 79–191. Gao T. G., Freire S. E., Hind D. J. N. 2011. Mutisieae. In: Z. Y. Wu, P. H. Raven, D. Y. 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