Some new distributional reports to Arunachal Pradesh, North East India

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1 Bioscience Discovery, 8(3): , July RUT Printer and Publisher Print & Online, Open Access, Research Journal Available on ISSN: (Print); ISSN: X (Online) Research Article Some new distributional reports to Arunachal Pradesh, North East India K. Jeyaprakash 1* and S. Rathinavel 2 1 North Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine (Ministry of AYUSH, Govt. of India), Pasighat , East Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh 2 Department of Botany, Saraswathi Narayanan College (Autonomous), Perungudi, Madurai , Tamil Nadu, India *jprakash@live.in Article Info Received: , Revised: , Accepted: Keywords: Six new records, Arunachal Pradesh, North East India. Abstract Phyllanthus fraternus G.L.Webster (Euphorbiaceae), Rotula aquatica Lour., (Boraginaceae) Synedrella nodiflora (L.) Gaertn., Thunbergia erecta (Benth.) T. Anders., Torenia fournieri Linden ex Fourn., and Trivalvaria dubia (Kurz) J. Sinclair are recorded first time from Arunachal Pradesh, North Eastern India. Detailed descriptions and photographs are provided for easy identification. INTRODUCTION The exploration of vegetation wealth of a region gives us correct understanding of bio resources for the betterment of human beings (Khan et al., 2015). Arunachal Pradesh, by virtue of its geographical position, climate conditions and altitudinal variations, is a biodiversity rich region in North East India, with large zone of tropical wet evergreen, subtropical, temperate and alpine forests (Bawri et al., 2014). The present report of floristic records provides available information on six species of vascular plants which were reported from the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India for the first time. These plants were collected from nearby forest area of Pasighat ( N, E) and its surrounding area during the recent field surveys. All the specimens were taxonomically verified using existing floristic treatises listed ahead and herbarium consultation at Botanical Survey of India, Arunachal Pradesh Regional Centre, Itanagar (ARUN). The flora of Arunachal Pradesh is still under explorations, and the present botanical survey only contributes to some extent to the floristic diversity of Arunachal Pradesh State. Perusal of the old literature on the flora of Arunachal Pradesh, such as A Contribution to the Flora of Namdapha, Arunachal Pradesh (Chauhan et al., 1996), Materials for the flora of Arunachal Pradesh (Hajra et al., 1996), Note on the floristic diversity and vegetation types of the Mouling National Park, Arunachal Pradesh. Himalayan Biosphere Reserves (Kumar et al., 2004), A preliminary report on floristic diversity of Dihang Dibang biosphere reserve of Arunachal Pradesh, Bulletin of Arunachal Forest Research (Choudhary, 2008), Phytodiversity and forest resources of Kane Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh (Dash, 2009), recent study from Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve in East Kameng District (Tag et al., 2012), Floral diversity of Arunachal Pradesh- Upper Subansiri District (Ambrish, 2013) revealed that, Phyllanthus fraternus, Rotula aquatica, Synedrella nodiflora, Thunbergia erecta, Torenia fournieri and Trivalvaria dubia are new records for the state. For all the species, voucher specimens were deposited at the CAL and at North Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh, for future reference. Detailed description, ISSN: X (Online)

2 K. Jeyaprakash and S. Rathinavel geographical distribution, ecology and photo plates are provided for its easy recognition. TAXONOMIC TREATMENT Phyllanthus fraternus G.L.Webster in Contr. Gray Herb. 176: & in J. Arnold Arbor. 38: 309, f. 19 G & H. 1957; R.L.Mitra & S.K. Jain in Bull. Bot. Surv. India 27: 172, f (publ. 1987). P. niruri auct. non L. 1753: sensu Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 5: , p. p. Herbs, annual, erect or ascending, cm high; stem without leaves; deciduous branchlets 4 8 cm long, subterete with a narrow sharp wing on either side, scabridulous, especially along ridges of wings, leaved; internodes 2 4 mm long; leaf-bearing branchlets 2-15 cm long, flat, striate and winged or angled, usually scabridulous. Leaves narrowly to broadly oblong, elliptic-oblong, orbicular, obovate-oblong to oblanceolate, rounded, obtuse, acute or cuneate at base, rounded, obtuse, apiculate or mucronulate at apex, 2 20 x 1 12 mm, membranous to thinly coriaceous, glabrous or sometimes scabrid on midrib above, glabrous to scabrid on major nerves beneath; lateral nerves 4-7 pairs; petioles mm long; stipules linearlanceolate or subulate, truncate at base, entire, x mm, thin, scarious. Inflorescences proximal cymules consisting of 1-3 male flowers or together with 1 female flower, distal cymules usually bearing solitary female or sometimes with a male flower also; bracts ovate-lanceolate or linearlanceolate, x mm, scarious, whitemargined. Fig.: 1. Phyllanthus fraternus: A. Habit, B. Male flower twig, C. Tender fruit and D. Mature fruit Male flowers: pedicels mm long, slender, scabrid to glabrous; sepals 3 + 3, subequal, broadly elliptic, obovate-elliptic, obovate-oblong to suborbicular, x mm, hyaline and white-margined, glabrous; disc glands 6, suborbicular, obovate or flabellate, ca 0.1 mm across; stamens 3; filaments connate into ca 0.2 mm long column; anthers sessile at column apex, suborbicular or squarish, ca 0.1 mm across, horizontally or obliquely dehiscent; antherthecae divergent. Female flowers: pedicels mm long, glabrous; sepals 3 + 3, unequal, obovate, oblanceolate, linear-spathulate, obtuse to subacute at apex, 1-2 x mm, entire, scarious and white-margined, sometimes scabrid outside; disc in a ring, irregularly cup-shaped, deeply dissected with linear or subulate segments; ovary subglobose, mm in diam., glabrous; styles 3, free, 496 ISSN: (Print)

3 erect or ascending, slender, bifid at apex. Fruits subglobose or depressed, 1-2 x 2-3 mm, shallowly 3-lobed or 3-angled, smooth; fruiting pedicels mm long; seeds trigonous, x mm, with 6 or 7 longitudinal ribs on the back. Flowers & Fruits: July January. Distribution: India: N.E. India: Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Tripura; North & South India and Lakshadweep Islands. Habitat and Ecology: This species is commonly found on the road side, slopes along stream sides with stone mixed soil, at m elevations. The commonly associated species in the habitat include Pachira aquatica Aublet, Mikania micrantha Kunth, Phlagocanthus thirciflorus Nees, Cyathula prostrata (Linnaeus) Blume, Polygonum chinense Linnaeus, Amorphophallus napalensis (Wallich) Bogner & Mayo, Dioscorea bulbifera Linnaeus, Elsholtzia blanda (Bentham) Bentham, Piper sylvaticum Roxburgh., Chloranthus officinalis Blume, Mussaenda frondosa Linnaeus and Solanum spirale Roxburgh. Specimens examined: N.E. India: Arunachal Pradesh: East Siang Dist. Pasighat along roadside; K. Jeyaprakash NEIFM & Rotula aquatica Lour., Fl. Cochinch ; I.M. Johnst. in J. Arn. Arb. 32: ; Haridasan & Rao, For. Fl. Meghalaya 2: ; Chowdhery et al., in Giri et al., Mater. Fl. Aruun. Pradesh 2: Rhabdia lycioides acut. Non Mart. 1827:C.B. Clarke in Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 4: ; Kanjilal et al., Fl. Assam 3: Bioscience Discovery, 8(3): , July Trailing shrubs with flexuous branches, 1-3 m height, gray or black-gray, tender branch usually reddish, glabrous. Leaves alternate or fascicled, x 7 mm, sessile, oblong-oblanceolate, ± leathery, strigose, base rounded, cuneate to broadly cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse, mucronate. Flowers solitary or in few flowered cymes axillary; calyx 3.5 mm long 5-partite, lobes lanceolate; corolla pink, 6 mm long, 7 mm across, campanulate, 5-lobed; stamens 5, anthers sagitate at base; ovary 4-celled, style filiform, stigma capitate. Fruit drupe, globose, brownish red when ripe, nearly dry. ca. 4 mm in diam., tipped with a persistent style. Seeds 4, (1-seeded) pyrenes, free, yellowish, smooth. Flowers & Fruits: November-March Distribution: Nearly throughout India; China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam. Habitat and Ecology: This species is rarely found in Pasighat Siang River with stone mixed soil from Komlighat to D Ering Wildlife sanctuary. The commonly associated species in the habitat include Dichrocephala integrifolia (L.f.) Kuntze, Homonoia riparia Lour., Murdannia nudiflora (L.) Brenan, Fimbristylis bis-umbellata (Forssk.) Bubani, Kyllinga nemoralis (Forst.) Dandy ex Hutch., and Dalziel, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv. Pradesh: East Siang Dist. Pasighat, Siang river (Komlighat); K. Jeyaprakash NEIFM-413. Fig.: 2. Rotula aquatica Habit ISSN: X (Online)

4 Synedrella nodiflora (L.) Gaertn., Fruct 2:456. T F ; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 3: Deb, the Fl. Trip. 2: ; Islam, Fl. Majuli ; Chowdhery in Hajra et al., Fl. India 12: Bora and Kumar, Fl. Diver. of Assam: Study of Pabitora WL. Sanct Verbesina nodiflora L., Cent. Pl.1: & Amoen. Acad 4: Erect herbs; stem adpressed hairy. Leaves simple, opposite, 4-8 x cm, ovate or ovate lanceolate, apex acute, base cuneate to truncate, narrowly winged on the petiole, margin serrate, scabrous on both sides, basally 3-nerved; petiole to 3 cm. Heads solitary, axillary and terminal, fewflowered, cm across, radiate. Phyllaries 2- seriate; outer foliaceous, inner paleaceous. Flowers heterogamous, yellow. Ray flowers: female; corolla tube mm long; ligule 1-2 mm long, 2-3-lobed; ovary 3 mm long, oblong, winged; style-arms acute. Disc flowers; bisexual; corolla tube 2-3 mm long, lobes 5; stamens 5, included, ovary 2-3 mm long. K. Jeyaprakash and S. Rathinavel achenes 3-4 mm long, dimorphic: of ray florets dorsally compressed, with lacerate wings; of disc florets trigonous, not winged, with 2 or 3 rigid awns. Flowers & Fruits: Throughout the year. Distribution: Pantropics. Habitat and Ecology: This species is commonly found on the road side, slopes along stream sides with stone mixed soil. The commonly associated species in the habitat include Mikania micrantha Kunth, Phlagocanthus thirciflorus Nees, Cyperus rotundus Linnaeus, Cyathula prostrata (Linnaeus) Blume, Polygonum chinense Linnaeus, Amorphophallus napalensis (Wallich) Bogner & Mayo, Dioscorea bulbifera Linnaeus, Chloranthus officinalis Blume, Mussaenda frondosa Linnaeus and Solanum spirale Roxburgh. Pradesh: East Siang Dist. Pasighat along road side; K. Jeyaprakash NEIFM-356 & 501. Fig.: 3. Synedrella nodiflora Habit Thunbergia erecta (Bentham) T. Anderson in J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Bot. 7: Bor & Raizada, Beaut. Ind. Climb. & Shrubs 107. pl ; Lanewala & H.M. Nasir, Dec. Fl. Kar Meyenia erecta Benth, Niger Fl (GRIN). Shrub, m tall, glabrous, branches slender, tetragonous, leaves small, ovate to subrhombic, 2-5 X 2.8 cm, acute or acuminate at apex, obtuse or acute at base, entire to slightly undulate, glabrous or slightly strigillose, 3-5 veined; flowers axillary, solitary, pediciels cm long, bracts 15 x 10 mm, oblique, acute, deciduous, globrous or nearly so; calyx teeth 8-12, subulate, 1-4 mm long, glandular hairy; corolla tube curved, deep violet with white abaxial and yellow adaxial throat, lobes equal, suborbicular, 5 6 cm long and 3 4 cm across apex and 1.5 cm throat, glandular hairy outside, lobes subequal, 1.5 cm long, obtuse; staminal filaments glandular-hairy; anthers oblong, 4 mm long, mucronate; style cm long; stigma 2-lobed ISSN: (Print)

5 Flowering: November March; Fruiting: February April Distribution: Throughout tropics. Habitat and Ecology: This species is commonly grown for ornament and cultivated widely in tropics. The commonly associated species in the Bioscience Discovery, 8(3): , July habitat include Amorphophallus napalensis (Wallich) Bogner & Mayo, Crotalaria retusa Linnaeus, Cyperus rotundus Linnaeus, Dioscorea bulbifera Linnaeus, Duranta erecta Linnaeus and Mikania micrantha Kunth. Fig.: 4. Thunbergia erecta Habit Pradesh: East Siang Dist. Pasighat, in front of NEIFM office, K. Jeyaprakash NEIFM Torenia fournieri Linden ex Fourn., Ill. Hort. 23: ; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 957(672). 1923; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut Herbs, cm tall. Stems erect, quadrangular, simple or branched above middle, subglabrous. Petiole 1 2 cm; leaf blade oblongovate to ovate, cm, subglabrous, margin coarsely serrate. Racemes often terminal; bracts linear, 2 5 mm. Pedicel 1 2 cm. Calyx ellipsoid, ca. 0.8 cm, green or purple-red at apex and margin, 5-winged; wings decurrent, ca. 2 mm wide, becoming ca. 3 mm wide in fruit; lips subtriangular, cm, sometimes apically lobed. Corolla cm, exceeding calyx by cm; tube pale violet, upper side yellow; lower lip lobes purpleblue, middle lobe with a yellow patch near base, oblong to suborbicular, ca mm, subequal; upper lip pale blue, erect, broadly obovate, cm, emarginate. Stamens unappendaged. Capsule narrowly ellipsoid ca mm. Seeds yellow. Flowering: June; Fruiting: January Distribution: Throughout the world. Habitat and Ecology: This species cultivated for ornamental purposes. The commonly associated species in the habitat include Duranta erecta Linnaeus, Mikania micrantha Kunth, Mussaenda frondosa Linnaeus and Pachira aquatica Aublet, Phyllanthus fraternus G.L.Webster Solanum spirale Roxburgh. Pradesh: East Siang Dist. Pasighat under cultivation; K. Jeyaprakash NEIFM Trivalvaria dubia (Kurz) J. Sinclair in Gard. Bull. Singapore 14: Polyalthia dubia Kurz, For. Fl. Brit. burma 1: Popowia kurzii King in Ann. R. Bot. Gard. Calc. 4:122, t. 163 B Erect shrub, less than 1 m height and stem cm girth, young shoots pubescent, dark brown. Leaves, elliptic-oblong-obovate, x cm, base cuneate or round, sometime oblique, apex acuminate, leaf blade leathery, adaxially dark green and abaxially pale green, glabrous above, slightly pubescent on midrib and later nerves beneath (whole blade on tender leaves), 9-13 pairs of secondary veins, petiole pubescent, 8-11 mm long. Inflorescences extra axillary, single or in pair white; bracts 1-3, triangular-ovate, 4 x 4 mm. Flowers polygamous (male and bisexual). Pedicel 5 mm, brown tomentose. Buds 5 mm, sepal pink. Sepals-3, triangular to ovate, ca. 5 x 4 mm, densely brown tomentose outside, apex acuminate ISSN: X (Online)

6 K. Jeyaprakash and S. Rathinavel Fig.:5. Torenia fournieri Habit Petals 6 in two whorls in imbricate. Outer petals valvate, convex, oblong, thick (succulent), whitedirty pale yellow, rarely with pinky violet batch on middle adaxially, spreading silky tomemtose on abaxially especially mid vein and margin, glabrous inside, ca x 6 mm, apex acute. Inner petals valvate, concave, elliptic-obovate, ca x 5 mm, thick (less than outer petals), white, tomentose on only mid vein on abaxially, acuminate and incurved at tip. Male flowers: torus conical; stamens 29 nos. ca. 2 mm oblong, pubescent, connective apex shield like. Bisexual flowers: torus cylindrical; stamens few, around the carpals; carpals 15-17, densely tomentose; style white, pubescent, ca. 3 mm. Fruiting pedicel 5 mm, sepals and scaly bracts are persistence, stipes red, ca. 7-8 mm, monocarp 9-17, green when tender, sometimes glaucous, ripening red, ellipsoid to oblong, ca x 6-8 mm, sparsely tomentose, apex cuspidate slightly curved., seed pale brown, 16 x 8 mm with two longitudinal channels. Flowering: April-June; Fruiting: June-November Distribution: India: N. E. India: Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Myanmar. Fig.:6. Trivalvaria dubia Habit ISSN: (Print)

7 Habitat and Ecology: This species is commonly found on the slopes along stream sides with stone mixed soil, at m elevations. The commonly associated species in the habitat include Amorphophallus napalensis (Wallich) Bogner & Mayo, Chloranthus officinalis Blume, Cyathula prostrata (Linnaeus) Blume, Dioscorea bulbifera Linnaeus, Elsholtzia blanda (Bentham) Bentham, Mikania micrantha Kunth, Mussaenda frondosa Linnaeus and Pachira aquatic Aublet., Phlagocanthus thirciflorus Nees, Phyllanthus fraternus G.L.Webster Piper sylvaticum Roxburgh., Polygonum chinense Linnaeus, Solanum spirale Roxburgh. Ethnobotany: Local name: Singkyng bonyang (Adi); Uses: Fruits are edible. Pradesh: East Siang Dist. Pasighat along roadside, K. Jeyaprakash NEIFM Phyllanthus fraternus, Rotula aquatica, Synedrella nodiflora, Thunbergia erecta, Torenia fournieri and Trivalvaria dubia were found that growing in stone mixed soil in the nearby area Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh. The present initiative to study those species in Arunachal Pradesh believed to provide the baseline information on the species that can be useful for formulation of conservation strategy. Acknowledgement The first author is thankful to The Director and other officials of North Eastern Institute of Folk Medicine (Ministry of AYUSH, Govt. of India), Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh for their encouragements and providing facilities for carryout research work and Dr. R. Murugan, Assistant Professor in Research, School of Chemical & Biotechnology, Sastra University, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, also acknowledged for his help on species identification. Bioscience Discovery, 8(3): , July REFERENCES Ambrish K, Floristic Diversity of Arunachal Pradesh:Upper Subansiri District. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun. Bawri A, Gajurel PR and Khan ML, New distributional records of Primula species in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Bioscience Discovery, 5(1): Chauhan AS, Singh KP and Singh DK, A contribution to the Flora of Namdapha, Arunachal Pradesh. Hajra, P.K. (ed.). Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta. Choudhary RK, A preliminary report on floristic diversity of Dihang Dibang biosphere reserve of Arunachal Pradesh. Bulletin of Arunachal Forest Research, 24 (1&2): Dash SS, Phytodiversity and forest resources of Kane Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, Pleione, 3(2): Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) Taxon:Meyenia erecta, (Online Database), National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, USDA, Beltsville, Maryland. Hajra P K, Verma DM and Giri GS, Materials for the Flora of Arunachal Pradesh (Ranunculaceae to Dipsacaceae). Vol. 1. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta. Khan TA, Desai VV and Gawande N R, Four New Flowering plant Records from Satpuda Range of Jalgaon District, (MS) India. Bioscience Discovery, 6(1): Kumar A, Medhi H, Choudhary R, Tam B and Baishya AK, Note on the floristic diversity and vegetation types of the Mouling National Park, Arunachal Pradesh. Himalayan Biosphere Reserves. 6 (1&2): Tag H, Jeri L, Mingki T, Tsering J and Das AK, Higher Plant Diversity in Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve in East Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh: Checklist - I, Pleione. 6(1): How to Cite this Article: K. Jeyaprakash and S. Rathinavel, Some new distributional reports to Arunachal Pradesh, North East India. Bioscience Discovery, 8(3): ISSN: X (Online)