Symplocos sisparensis B. Karthik, Murug., Anusuba, Premkumar & R. Tharani 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Karthik, B.
name: Murugesan, M.
name: Anusuba, V.
name: Premkumar, M.
name: Tharani, R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Ericales
Symplocaceae
Symplocos
Symplocos sisparensis

description: Symplocos sisparensis B. Karthik, Murug., Anusuba, Premkumar & R. Tharani, sp. nov. (Figure 1)
Type:— INDIA. Tamil Nadu: The Nilgiris Distr., Way to Nadugani-Mukurthi National Park, 11°15′13.94″ N, 76°29′13.50″ E, ± 2223 m, 29.11.2022, M. Murugesan & B. Karthik 148115 (Holotype MH; Isotypes MH).
Diagnosis:— Small tree with glabrous branches (vs medium to large tree with villous branches); leaf margins crenulate, each crenulate tooth with a blunt tip, glabrous abaxially with 4–6 pairs of lateral veins (vs leaf margins serrulate, each serrulate tooth with sharp tip, midrib sparsely long-hairy with 7–13 pairs of lateral veins); calyx lobes equal, glabrous and pinkish along margins, hairy in middle of abaxial side (vs calyx lobes unequal, glabrous or sparsely appressed-hairy, greenish along margins); style hairy, curved and constricted at middle (vs style glabrous except at base, style curved without constriction); fruits 7–10 mm long, globose or cylindrical to ellipsoid with blunt apex (vs fruits 1.2–1.4 cm long, broadly cylindrical to ellipsoid or oblongoid, truncate at ends) (Figure 3).
Description
Large shrub to small tree, up to 4 m high. Bark grey, young branchlets light greenish yellow, glabrous, covered with pulvinate leaf scars, twigs have discontinuous growth. Leaves simple, alternate-spiral, exstipulate; lamina 5–9 × 2–3.5 cm, elliptic, shortly attenuate towards base, crenulate along margin, acute-acuminate at apex, mid vein prominent abaxially, impressed adaxially, secondary veins abaxially prominent, lateral veins 4–6-pair, convergent towards apex with intramarginal venation, terminal vegetative juvenile leaves abaxially pubescent also covered by bract-like scales, densely pubescent abaxially. Petioles 1–1.5 cm long, brown, canaliculate near the base on adaxial side, glabrous. Inflorescence in axillary spikes on young and rarely on mature branches; sometimes flowers subsessile. Peduncles 1–5 cm long, pubescent at flowering, glabrescent during fruiting. Bracts 3.5–4.5 × 2.5–3 mm, ovate to cymbiform. Bracteoles ovate-lanceolate, 1–2 × 1–1.5 mm, caducous, brown, acute at apex, truncate at base, ciliate along margin, concave, appressed sericeous adaxially, glabrous abaxially. Flowers 3–9 in cluster on a spike, 6–7.5 × 7–8 mm. Calyx tube green, ca. 2 mm long, glabrous, 5-lobed; lobes deltoid, 1–1.5 × 1–1.5 mm, glabrous and green to pinkish at margins, sparsely hairy from middle to apex abaxially. Corolla white, 3–4.5 × 3–3.5 mm, deeply 5-lobed; lobes connate at base, elliptic, obtuse or subobtuse at apex, 5-veined. Stamens 55–70 in 4 or 5 irregular series, uppermost series extending beyond corolla, 1–6 mm long; filaments equally wide from base to apex; anthers ca. 1 mm long. Style 2–3 mm long, shorter than corolla, constricted at middle; stigma capitate. Disk 5-glandular, stellate-hairy. Fruits 7–10 × 4–6 mm, globose or cylindrical to ellipsoid with blunt apex, not grooved.
Flowering & Fruiting: October–December.
Etymology: The new species named after the type locality, Sispara Ghats of Mukurthi National Park, The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu.
Habitat & Ecology: Daphniphyllum neilgherrense (Wight) Rosenthal (1919: 7), Eurya nitida Korthals (1841: 115), Hedyotis sisaparensis Gage (1906: 244), Berberis nilghiriensis Ahrendt (1945: 1), Rhodomyrtus tomentosa (Aiton) Hasskarl (1842: 35), Rubus ellipticus Smith (1815: 16) and Myrsine wightiana Wallich ex de Candolle (1834: 106).
Distribution: Mukurthi National Park, The Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu, India (Figure 2).
Conservation status: During the present study, the authors have observed seven individuals of this new species, on the way to Nadugani-Mukurthi National Park covering about 2 km 2 geographical areas. Therefore, it is provisionally assessed here as Critically Endangered [CR, D], according to IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria (IUCN 2022).
description: Published as part of Karthik, B., Murugesan, M., Anusuba, V., Premkumar, M. & Tharani, R., 2023, Symplocos sisparensis (Symplocaceae), a new species from the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, India, pp. 83-90 in Phytotaxa 589 (1) on pages 84-89, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.589.1.8, http://zenodo.org/record/7755073