AMORPHOPHALLUS SHYAMSALILIANUS
PROTOLOGUE: Amorphophallus shyamsalilianus J.V.Gadpay., Somkuwar & A.A.Chaturv., published in Phytotaxa 312(1): 118-122 (2017).
Amorphophallus shyamsalilianum J.V. Gadpayale, S.R. Somkuwar & Chaturvedi, sp. nov. Gadpayale, J.V., Somkuwar, S.R. & Chaturvedi, A.A. (2017). Amorphophallus shyamsalilianum, a new species (Araceae) from Bhandara district, Maharashtra state, India. Phytotaxa 312(1): 118-122.
DISTRIBUTION: India (Maharashtra): India.
DISTRIBUTION NOTE: India: Maharashtra, in the Bhandara district, where it is known from three localities - Paladi, Nimgaon and Khapa.².
SPECIES DESCRIPTION:
Tubers normally depressed subglobose, 4.5-12 cm across and 4-8 cm thick in the vegetative phase, producing stolon-like offsets. Petiole smooth, 42.5-77.8 cm long and 0.9-2.4 cm across at the base, tapering slightly to the tip, pale greenish with white patches and light pinkish with dark brownish mottling, paler towards the tip, the extreme base pale pink. Leaflets sessile, linear-lanceolate, the large ones 14.0-18.8 cm long and 2-3 cm wide, the small ones 2.2-7.8 cm long and to 1.7 cm wide, the base unequal and decurrent on the rachis, the apex acuminate, dark green above and paler beneath; lateral nerves in 7-16 pairs.²
INFLORESCENCE:
Peduncle slender and smooth, 120 cm long and 1.5-2.5 cm across at the base, matching the petiole in colour and mottling. Spathe convolute, broadly ovate to broadly triangular, 10-17.5 cm long and 5.0-6.5 cm across, the tip acute, not divided into a basal tube and an upper limb, brownish to pale greenish outside with prominent dark purple veins, dark pinkish within with a blackish purple base. Spadix longer than the spathe, 15-21 cm long, on a stipe about 0.5 cm long and 1.2 cm across; female zone 2-3 cm long and 1.2-1.4 cm across; staminodal zone 1.7-2.0 cm long and 1.2-1.4 cm across; male zone 4.1-5.5 cm long and 0.8-1.2 cm across; appendix 9.5-12.3 cm long and 9 mm across at the base, tapering to the tip, light purplish to dark brownish, with irregular shallow lengthwise furrows at the base and smooth above. Female flowers with a subglobose ovary 2 mm high and 2.5 mm across, yellowish-white, 2-3-locular; style very short, about 1 mm long; stigma 2-3-lobed, 1.2 mm across, yellow. The staminodal zone carries very loosely arranged rhomboid or spherical fleshy sterile flowers, each 0.5-0.7 mm long and about 2-4 mm across, slightly convex and purplish, set in 3-4 spiral rows and numbering 18-21. Male flowers in circular or oval groups, each group of five at the base, loosely arranged on a whitish-yellow cushion, golden-yellow, 0.7-1 mm high and 1.4-1.7 mm across, the thecae yellowish and the connective pinkish-purple, densely arranged towards the appendix. Fruits ovoid to ellipsoid, 6-8 mm across, bright green when immature and bright red when ripe. Seeds 2-3, ellipsoid, 6-8 mm long and 4-5 mm across.²
ECOLOGY:
Flowering in June and July, fruiting in July and August.²
NOTES:
1. The spadix carries a distinct band of sterile flowers between the female and male zones, of 18-21 fleshy rhomboid or spherical bodies in three or four spiral rows.²
2. The peduncle reaches 120 cm, so the inflorescence is carried well clear of the ground.²
3. The species is known only from three localities in one district.²
4. It is called Jangli Suran locally, and the corms are used in traditional medicine.²
REFERENCES:
1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Amorphophallus shyamsalilianus J.V.Gadpay., Somkuwar & A.A.Chaturv.
2. Phytotaxa 312(1): 118-122 (2017) — protologue.