Dipcadi longiracemosum (Deb & Dasgupta) H.Rodrigues, S.R.Dutta & Chakral

Rodrigues, Hensal Salvador, Dutta, Suchandra Ranjit & Chakral, Kiran Gangadhar, 2024, Systematic study in Dipcadi ursulae (Asaparagaceae, Scillioideae) from Maharashtra, India, Phytotaxa 653 (3), pp. 241-260 : 251

1. Dipcadi longiracemosum (Deb & Dasgupta) H.Rodrigues, S.R.Dutta & Chakral , stat. nov. ( Fig. 2 , 3 )

= Dipcadi ursulae var. longiracemosum Deb & Dasgupta 1976: 823 ; Deb & Dasgupta 1977: 66; Deb & Dasgupta 1981: 11; Bole & Pathak 1988: 319; Lakshminarasimhan 1996: 133; Almeida 2009: 178; Nayar et al. 2014: 1553; Mao & Dash 2020: 196. ≡ Ornithogalum ursulae var. longiracemosum (Deb & S.Dasgupta) J.C. Manning & Goldblatt 2004: 552 .

Type:— INDIA. Gujarat: Junagadh, Girnar Hill, 25 August 1958, Bole 743 (Holotype BLAT!; ibid, 29 August 1952, Bole 851 ( Paratype BLAT!)

Bulbs tunicate, ovoid-ellipsoid, neck absent sometimes up to 1.2 cm long, 3.0–3.2 × 3.0– 3.6 cm propagating vegetatively by bulblets and splitting of the mother bulb. Roots fibrous, fleshy, arise from the basal disc. Leaves 4 to 8, 17.0–100.0 × 1.6–3.7 cm, flat and strap-shaped, not channelled, glabrous, green, basal underground portion white, apex involute, leaves shorter than inflorescence, 4 to 6 leaves persistent in infructescence, 10 to 20 veined. Scape 1 (or 2), 30–60 × c. 0.6 cm long, glabrous, terete and green; raceme, 12–20 cm long, dense. Pedicel 5.0–8.0 × c. 1.0 mm long. Bract 20–42 × 3–4.0 mm long, green, coriaceous with scarious margins, clasp the pedicel, base ± triangular, apex 12.0–32.0 mm, acuminate, completely scarious in infructescence, 5-nerved. Flowers 32 to 56 per scape, 10–13 mm long, tubular, white with green stripe, mild fragrant at night and day; perianth arranged in two rows of 3 each, outer perianth 1 mm longer than inner perianth; perianth tube, c. 5.0 × 3.0–4.0 mm, green; outer perianth lobes 6.0–7.0 × c. 3.0 mm, oblong, recurved c. 5.0 mm, white with central olive green band, tip hooded and papillose; inner perianth lobes c. 6.0 × 2.0–3.0 mm, recurved c. 3.0 mm, ovate with acute apex, white with central olive green band, tip papillose, perianth tube equal to perianth lobes. Stamens 6, 4.0–5.0 mm long; filaments, 3.0–4.0 × c. 1.0 mm, narrowing towards the apex, white, adnate to perianth; anthers c. 2.0 × 1.0 mm, sagittate, not apiculate, dorsifixed, yellow, projecting out of tube c. 1.0 mm at anthesis, dehiscing longitudinally, filament twice as long as anther. Pistil 10–13 mm long; ovary tricarpellary, c. 5.0 × 3.0 mm, trigonous obovoid, green, stipe absent, conspicuous septal nectary present in the ovary; style c. 6.0 × 1.0 mm, glistening white, cylindrical with longitudinal striations, style as long as the ovary; stigma c. 0.1 mm, thicker than the style, 1 mm in diameter, white, papillose, vaguely trigonous, each lobe is bilobed, the trilobed condition observed when the pistil is young, with 3 nectar droplets at the angle of the stigma lobes that project out of the tube at anthesis. Fruit loculicidal capsule, c. 17.0 × 12.0 mm, length longer than width, dehiscing longitudinally, pericarp thick, green when young and thin, light yellowish-green-brown at maturity, bracts persistent. Seeds, c. 6.0 × 4.0 mm, superposed, orbicular-ellipsoid, compressed with slightly raised margin; shiny black, 19 to 20 per locule.

Distribution:— INDIA, Gujarat, Junagadh, Girnar hill slopes 21° 31’ 59.6856’’ N, 70° 31’ 27.5844’’ E); Maharashtra, Ralegan.

Habitat:— found on slopes of the hill

Phenology:— August–October

Specimens examined:— INDIA, Gujarat: Junagadh, Girnar Hill, 25 August, 1958, P.V. Bole 743 ( BLAT!) ; ibid, 29 August, 1952, P.V. Bole 851 ( BLAT!) ; ibid., 02 September 2023, H. Rodrigues & Chakral HSK222446, HSK222447, HSK222448, HSK222449, HSK222450 ( RDNCP!) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Dipcadi longiracemosum. (a) Habit, (b) inflorescence, (c) flower front view, (d) flower side view, (e) lateral section of flower, (f) flower buds, (g) bract, (h) perianth with stamen, (i) perianth lobe, (j) stamen, (k) pollen, (l) gynoecium, (m) transverse section of ovary, (n) fruit, (o) lateral section of fruit, (p) seeds. © Photo by H.Rodrigues.

FIGURE 3. Comparison between selected character of Dipcadi ursulae var. ursulae, Dipcadi longiracemosum and Dipcadi ursulae var. alba. Habitat of D. ursulae (a), D. longiracemosum (b) and D. ursulae var. alba (c). Inflorescence of D. ursulae (d), D. longiracemosum (e) and D. ursulae var. alba (f). Flower side view of D. ursulae (g), D. longiracemosum (h) and D. ursulae var. alba (i). Gynoecium of D. ursulae (j), D. longiracemosum (k) and D. ursulae var. alba (l). Lateral section of fruit D. ursulae (m), D. longiracemosum (n) and D. ursulae var. alba (o). Fruit of D. ursulae (p), D. longiracemosum (q) and D. ursulae var. alba (r). Habitat of D. ursulae (s), D. longiracemosum (t) and D. ursulae var. alba (u). © Photo by H.Rodrigues. Note. Lateral section of fruit displays seeds at different stages.