Abstract
Murdannia striatipetala Faden, a native species to Sri lanka hither to recorded only from Tamil Nadu is reported here for the first time from coastal region of Karaikal, Pondicherry, India. The new record of this species is presented here with brief botanical description, illustration and relevant data for easy identification.
Highlights
As defined by [1], family comprises 50 genera and about 700 species, widely distributed in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world
Murdannia striatipetala is closely related to M. spirata, but characters such as definite base, narrow leaves, dark-veined petals, and short appressed hairs on the stamen and filaments had made it distinct
Contrasting dark-veined petals are characteristic of Murdannia spirata (L.) Bruckner var. parviflora Faden, but it differs fromM. striatipetala by characters like indefinite base, flowers c. 10-12 mm wide, stamen dimorphism. The distribution of this species was reported to be northern Sri Lanka and southern India, which Faden widened on the basis of earlier collections from India
Summary
As defined by [1], family comprises 50 genera and about 700 species, widely distributed in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Murdannia striatipetala is a dazzling but little known species of southern India. It was described by [3] based on his earlier collection from Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in 1977. In India, the genus is represented 27 species by [12]; subsequently Murdannia Royle [13], have been added to Indian flora, bringing the total number into ca. Murdannia striatipetala is closely related to M. spirata, but characters such as definite base, narrow leaves, dark-veined petals, and short appressed hairs on the stamen and filaments had made it distinct. The distribution of this species was reported to be northern Sri Lanka and southern India, which Faden widened on the basis of earlier collections from India. Since a complete description for this species is not available in any of the Pondicherry floras or taxonomic accounts, a detailed description along with colour photoplate is provided to facilitate accurate identification
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