Iseilema kunhikannanii K. C. Mohan, Y. Mahesh & K. Prasad 2020, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Mohan, Kolagani Chandra
name: Mahesh, Y.
name: Subramanyam, P.
name: Sharma, Sushant
name: Prasad, Kothareddy
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Liliopsida
Poales
Poaceae
Iseilema
Iseilema kunhikannanii

description: Iseilema kunhikannanii K.C. Mohan, Y. Mahesh & K. Prasad sp. nov. (Fig. 1)
Type: — INDIA: Rajasthan, Bundi district, Bundi forest division, Near Garrada village, N 25° 12′ 04.52′′, E 75° 28′ 13.68′′, 452 m alt., 17 th October 2018, K. Chandra Mohan 5126 (holotype: CAL, isotypes: BSID, BSJO)
Diagnosis:— Iseilema kunhikannanii is closely allied to I. holei, but differs in having tubercles on median keel of leaf sheaths, extended little above the lamina (vs. median keel of leaf sheaths lacks tubercles); fascicles elliptic-lanceolate (vs. subglobose); spatheole with tubercles on both keels and marginal nerves (vs. tubercles only on keel); involucral spikelets lanceolate; lower glumes 5-nerved; upper glumes 1-nerved, wings glabrous (vs. lanceolate or narrowly ellipticoblong; lower glumes 5 or 9-nerved; upper glumes 3-nerved, wings hairy); central pedicel shorter than the involucral spikelets (vs. as long as involucral spikelets); sessile spikelet 3–3.5 mm long; lower glume deeply cleft at apex, keels glabrous (vs. 3.5–5.1 mm long; lower glume aristate or minutely 2-cuspidate or truncate, keels granulate).
Description:— Tufted annuals or short-lived perennials. Culms erect, robust, glabrous, up to 100 cm high; nodes bearded; internodes pale yellow. Leaf blades flat, linear, 10–40 × 0.4–0.5 cm, acuminate at apex, ciliate along margins, sparsely villous at base; ligules short, membranous, 1.5–2 mm long, with 2–4 mm long cilia at apex; leaf sheaths 6–10 cm long, compressed, keeled, median keel tuberculate and extended little above the lamina, mouth ciliate. Inflorescence a dense false panicle, terminal and axillary, subtended by spathe and spatheole; panicles with clusters of spikelets in dense fascicles; spathe 1.5–5 cm long, tuberculate on keels and marginal nerves, with reduced leaf blade; spatheole boat shaped, lanceolate, 6–12 mm long, tuberculate on keels and marginal nerves. Racemes solitary, with three heteromorphous spikelets; lower four involucral spikelets (male), one sessile spikelet (female) and two pedicelled spikelets (male or not); peduncle short and within spathe, 6–10 mm long, tuberculate above; rachis carrying sessile spikelet, 1–1.2 mm long, sparsely hairy. Involucral spikelets lanceolate, 4–4.8 × 0.8–1 mm, acute to acuminate at apex, scabrid throughout, sparsely hairy; pedicels of involucral spikelets longer than broad, 0.5–1 × 0.2–0.3 mm, hairy at base only. Lower glumes lanceolate, 3.2–4.5 × 0.9–1.1 mm, acute at apex, margins sparsely hairy, 5-nerved, scabrid, 2-keeled, sparsely tuberculate on keels. Upper glumes lanceolate, 3.2–3.8 × 0.6–0.8 mm, acute at apex, 1-nerved, glabrous, 2-keeled, keels winged; wings glabrous. Upper lemmas hyaline, linear-lanceolate, 2–2.5 × 0.2–0.3 mm, 2-cleft at apex. Stamens 3, anthers 1.4–1.6 mm long; filaments 0.5–0.6 mm long. Sessile spikelet linear-lanceolate, 3–3.5 × 0.6–0.8 mm, narrowed at apex and broader at base, awned, sparsely hairy or not at base. Lower glume linear-lanceolate, 3–3.5 × 0.7–0.8 mm, deeply cleft at apex, 4-nerved, scabrid on upper half and glabrous on lower half, 2- keeled. Upper glume linear-lanceolate, 3–3.2 × 0.4–0.6 mm, acuminate to aristate at apex, 3-nerved, 2-keeled; arista up to 0.6 mm long. Upper lemma linear, 1.2–1.5 × 0.1–0.2 mm, awned; awn geniculate, 10–14 mm long. Upper palea hyaline, oblong-lanceolate, 2–2.5 × 0.4–0.6 mm, cleft at apex, nerveless. Caryopsis elliptic, 1.2–1.4 × 0.6–0.8 mm. Pedicelled spikelets linear-lanceolate, 4.5–5 × 0.6–0.8 mm, scabrid throughout; pedicel 1–1.4 mm long, ciliate at base only. Lower glumes linear-lanceolate, 3.6–4 × 0.8–1 mm, truncate at apex, 5-nerved, scabrid, tuberculate on nerves. Upper glumes linear-lanceolate, 3.6–4 × 0.4–0.6 mm, acuminate at apex, 1-nerved, glabrous, scabrid and tuberculate on nerve. Upper lemmas linear-lanceolate, 3–3.4 × 0.2–0.3 mm, glabrous, hyaline.
Flowering & Fruiting:— September-November.
Distribution:— Iseilema kunhikannanii is currently known from the Bundi forest division in the Bundi district of Rajasthan state. It is exhibiting patchy distribution.
Etymology:— The new species named in honor of Dr. C. Kunhikannan, Scientist-“G” at Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Coimbatore for his contributions to the forest ecology and plant biodiversity in India.
description: Published as part of Mohan, Kolagani Chandra, Mahesh, Y., Subramanyam, P., Sharma, Sushant & Prasad, Kothareddy, 2020, Iseilema kunhikannanii (Poaceae: Panicoideae), a new species from Rajasthan, India, pp. 113-117 in Phytotaxa 434 (1) on pages 113-115, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.434.1.8, http://zenodo.org/record/13875088