Mayur Nandikar

This updated version of the book includes much additional information on Indian, African, and Southeast Asian Commelinaceae, and represents the culmination of 15 years of research. The new information includes the description of a new generic section, 12 nomenclatural and taxonomic novelties, 13 new synonyms, and the typification of 108 binomials....

This document is a product of the preparatory phase project of the National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Well-Being which was catalysed and supported by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. It is the outcome of a series of stakeholder consultation meetings on ecological restoration of terrestrial landscape...

The Scottish botanist and forester N.A. Dalzell (1817–1878) described nearly 300 taxa in western India, including nineteen orchid taxa. Nevertheless, most of the orchid names (except eight) were synonymized under earlier available names. The purpose of this paper is to review the orchid names described by Dalzell. All of his collections went to K i...

Nicolas Alexander Dalzell (1817–1877) described seven species of Lepidagathis (Acanthaceae). Except for Lepidagathis grandiflora, which was later recognised as Calacanthus, all are retained in the genus Lepidagathis. Of these, five are endemic to peninsular India. While exploring Dalzell’s species, we have made field explorations, consulted Lepidag...

A taxonomic revision of Indian Blumea following herbarium collection, field data, literature, and the original material.

The Scottish botanist N.A. Dalzell collected plants mainly from Western India and described nearly 300 new taxa, including 17 genera. Dalzell established correspondence with William Hooker who validated and published most of Dalzell’s novelties in ‘Hooker’s Journal of Botany’. Dalzell compiled first comprehensive flora for Bombay Presidency wherein...

Korandi Salacia fruticosa has most recently been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2020. Salacia fruticosa is listed as Least Concern.

Hypoestes lanata Dalzell (Acanthaceae), a narrow endemic species is rediscovered after a lapse of 80 years from the type locality, i.e. north Konkan, Maharashtra, India. A distribution note on the genus Hypoestes, detailed description of the species, illustration, distribution map, threat status and photographs are provided to facilitate identifica...

Scottish botanist and forester Nicol Alexander (N. A.) Dalzell (1817 -1877) served in colonial India during 1840 - 1870. He described nearly 300 plant species and his contribution in plant taxonomy of Bombay Presidency is very significant and well known. However his contribution to the first ever economic botany museum established by Sir William Ho...

The Linnaean Commelina erecta (Commelinaceae) is recorded for the first time from Indian subcontinent. A comparative account of congeneric taxa is provided here in addition to the detailed morphological description and photographs for ease in identification.

In recent years, new generic circumscriptions have been proposed in the Hedyotis–Oldenlandia complex. A comprehensive revision of Indian Hedyotis sensu lato, published in 2004, was based on a broad generic concept for the genus and does not uphold new generic delimitations. Therefore, the present article has been prepared to apply modern generic co...

A Scottish botanist Nicol Alexander Dalzell (1817–1878) was active in colonial India during 1841 to 1870; he discovered ca. 300 species, added about17 new genera chiefly from Western India. He published first comprehensive flora for Bombay presidency with Dr. Alexander Gibson. His most discoveries published mainly in Hooker's Journal of Botany unde...

The genus Salacia (Celastraceae: Salaciodeae) in peninsular India is revised, wherein ten species are recognised. Eight species are endemic to the region. Salacia macrophylla and S. reticulata are excluded from the revision as occurrence of both the species is doubtful in mainland India. Salacia macrosperma exhibits great variation in leaf shape, f...

Barleria sepalosa C.B. Clarke or Clarke's Koranti is an endemic shrub only known from four locations in northern Western Ghats, Maharashtra. The species is threatened by habitat loss, insect infestation and artificial fire. Thus, on the basis of restricted AOO, number of locations, and estimated continuing decline in extent and quality of habitat,...

Recently described two new species, viz. Pinda shrirangii (Apiaceae) and Vicoa gokhalei (Asteraceae), are reviewed for their taxonomy. An illegitimate Heracleum grandiflorum Dalzell & Gibson (non Steven ex M. Bieb.) is recognised as conspecific with P. shrirangii and proposed as a new synonym of the latter. Vicoa gokhalei is found to be conspecific...

Humboldtia brunonis Wall. (Fabaceae) is lectotypified. This Indian endemic has consistently been described to have 3-petaled flowers. We collected H. brunonis with 3–5-petaled flowers, and this variation is here briefly explaine

Graham’s posthumous publication (Cat. Pl. Bombay, 1839) was completed by Joseph Nimmo, in addition to contributing several new species in it. Croton gibsonianus Nimmo and C. lawianus Nimmo (Euphorbiaceae) were part of this addition, and both were described based on Gibson’s collection from adjoining localities in the Western India. As the diagnosis...

The life and work of geologist and botanist Alfred Prentice Young (1841–1919) are outlined. His collection of plants from Western India, Kashmir and Pakistan (1878–1881) was given to the Natural History Museum, London (BM) in 1884. Details of his botanical collections and new taxa based on them are provided, and a new species, Commelina youngii, is...

The introduced Indian taxon currently known by the incorrect name Nymphaea alba var. rubra, which has been shown to be a hybrid between N. alba and N. odorata, is given the new nothospecies name Nymphaea × khurooi Sardesai & Nandikar.

A new species of Salacia is described from Karnataka and Kerala states of the Western Ghats, India. It is unique within the genus on account of its obliquely dehiscing anthers and 7–10 cm long, prolate to broadly ellipsoid or ovoid, keeled, greenish‐yellow 5‐ to 8‐seeded fruit with thin epicarp and dry mesocarp. Salacia megacarpa sp. nov. can be gr...

An identification key to all the reported species of Hedyotis-Oldenlandia group (Hedyotis, Oldenlandia, Exallage, Leptopetalum, Scleromitrion and Debia) in Andaman & Nicobar Islands is presented with one new species, Oldenlandia smita-crishnae, described from Saddle Peak forests of North Andaman, India. It shares some characters with Oldenlandia he...

A synopsis of Kalanchoe olivacea Dalzell and K. bhidei T.Cooke (Crassulaceae), both endemic to Peninsular India, is presented, together with morphological descriptions and photographs. The study is based on an examination of living and herbarium collections; it includes updated nomenclature, typification, and notes on distribution and conservation...

The popular and predominantly used name Grewia rhamnifolia B.Heyne ex Roth which is an illegitimate and superfluous name because of the synonymy under earlier Grewia carpinifolia Juss. is proposed for conservation.

The genus Grewia in Andaman & Nicobar Islands is reviewed with its identification key, descriptions, distribution and photographs. This article provides correct taxonomic identity of G. laevigata and G. multiflora with comprehensive morphology and conservation assessment for the endemic G. indandamanica.

A widely distributed infraspecific taxon, Abutilon indicum subsp. albescens var. australiense is collected after lapse of six decades from peninsular India and recognized here as distinct species, Abutilon australiense comb. et stat. nov. The detailed comparative morphology with its associated taxa has been discussed in the present article with upd...

The present article accounts for a previously overlooked, new species of Commelina from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The new species, here described as Commelina littoralis can be distinguished e.g. by its white antherodes, and appendaged seeds. It is compared with the similar, cosmopolitan species C. diffusa and C. caroliniana and provided...

Ledebouria Roth is a complex genus and it shows a wide range of chromosome counts. Present paper reports chromosome number 2n (6X) = 90 in L. revoluta (L.f.) Jessop a number that is not known so far in the entire genus Ledebouria which exhibits highly asymmetrical (2C) karyotype. The karyotype symmetry of the chromosomes and extreme level of polypl...

We present a first wild record of Crotalaria uncinella subsp. elliptica (Fabaceae) from Saddle Peak National Park, North Andaman, India with its comprehensive morphological description, illustration, photographs and lectotypification.

The present article describes and illustrates a new species of Commelina from dryland hillocks of Karnataka, India. The new species Commelina rupestris shares morphological similarities with C. badamica, C. hirsuta and C. attenuata, but differs in its perennial habit, knotted rhizomatous, definite base, broadly elongate, thickened tuberous roots, c...

Commelina imberbis Ehrenb. ex Hassk., an African species, and Murdannia crocea subsp. crocea (Griff.) Faden, a Southeast Asian species, have been reported for the first time from India with their typification, descriptions, illustrations, color photographs, and notes on allied species. © 2018 National Science Museum of Korea (NSMK) and Korea Nation...

The genus Ledebouria Roth consists of 61 species and 2 infraspecific species in the world. (WCSP 2018). Although, Ledebouria was described from India (Roth 1821) it has been treated as a synonym of Scilla in most Indian literature (Giranje & Nandikar, 2016). The genus has very few qualitative characters that could be used in species taxonomy. L. vi...

Proposal to conserve the name Grewia asiatica (Malvaceae: Grewioideae) with a conserved type

Proposal to conserve the name Grewia tiliifolia against G. damine (Malvaceae: Grewioideae)

Amidst in the concrete jungle of Mumbai, Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) is unequivocally a botanical paradise and home to thousands of live creatures. A salubrious climate, floral and faunal diversity and forest treks through the different habitats are being respected by nature enthusiast, researchers and tourists, and therefore it became one o...

The aim of the present study is to investigate the methanolic extract of the roots of Murdannia lanuginosa and M. simplex (Commelinaceae) for their phytochemical compounds using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The study reveals three compounds in M. lanuginosa and six compounds in M. simplex respectively. M. lanuginosa could be used f...

The names Ipomoea clarkei Hook.f. and I. barlerioides (Choisy) Benth. ex C.B. Clarke are lectotypified.

Five names in Grewia: G. columnaris, G. gamblei, G. wightiana, G. coriacea and G. diplocarpa are lectotypified

The forts on hilltops of the Sahyadri (northern Western Ghats) have seen a turbulent historical past and are famous for their architectural style and cultural heritage. Besides this, these hilltops are home to an incredible plant diversity. One of the highest hilltop forts (ca. 1,403m) the Torna, has been explored since 2012 for floral assessment....

Classroom experiments ‘walking and talking the tree of life’ greatly explains the monophyletic origin of creatures and how they are descendants from a common ancestors. All these applied and theory based phylogenetic methods can be utilized further to improve practical and updated biological knowledge of young biology students. To inculcate this up...

The forts on hilltops of the Sahyadri (northern Western Ghats) have seen a turbulent historical past and are famous for their architectural style and cultural heritage. Besides this, these hilltops are home to an incredible plant diversity. One of the highest hilltop forts (ca. 1,403m) the Torna, has been explored since 2012 for floral assessment....

Grewia macrophylla G. Don has been treated as a synonym of Grewia abutilifolia Vent. ex Juss. in most literature. However, G. macrophylla is a distinct species and differs from G. abutilifolia in the characters of leaf, pedicel and petals. G. macrophylla is known from elevated hilly forests in the northeast region of India and Myanmar, while G. abu...

The species is restricted to high altitude plateaus and resembles F. nilgheriensis (Baker) Wight ex Cooke, a weak stemmed species, but differs in its erect, robust habit, broader, longer, lanceolate-acuminate stipules, and larger inflorescence (Billore and Hemadri 1982). The present work provides a detailed description of F. rollae, notes on typifi...

Typical, loculicidal dehiscent capsule is one of the important taxonomic characters in the family Commelinaceae. A capsule in Comelinaceae is usually tri-locular, but in few species of Commelina L., Floscopa Lour., Murdannia Royle and Rhopalephora Blume capsules are bi-locular, glabrous to scabrous or variously pubescent. The characters like seed a...

In India, the delimitation and taxonomic status of the genus Microcos has historically been in a state of flux. While revising the genus Grewia for India, authors found certain taxonomic and nomenclatural inconsistencies in the Floras while treating M. paniculata and M. calophylla. The aims of the present study are to resolve these inconsistency, t...

In the present nomenclature notes eight binomials in the genus Salacia L. are lectotypified, viz.: S. beddomei gamble, S. brunoniana Wight & arn., S. floribunda Wight, S. gambleana Whiting & kaul, S. jenkinsii kurz, S. khasiana Purkayastha, S. malabarica gamble, and S. verrucosa Wight.

We recognize four species of Ledebouria Roth (Hyacinthaceae: Hyacinthoideae) from India, namely Ledebouria revoluta (L.f.) Jessop, Ledebouria viridis S. Dutta & P. Harvey ex M.R. Almeida, Ledebouria karnatakensis Punekar & Lakshmin. and Ledebouria hyderabadensis M.V. Ramana et al. The name Ledebouria junnarensis S.S. Rahangdale & S.R. Rahangdale is...

A new species Murdannia ugemugei Kamble, Somkuwar & Nandikar is described and illustrated from the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra, India.

A new species Commelina badamica Nandikar & Gurav from the sandstone plateaus of Badami, Karnataka, India is described and illustrated. Commelina badamica is similar to C. clavata and C. diffusa, but differs in having indefinite habit, linear to narrowly lanceolate leaves, puberulous or velutinous to tomentose spathes, clawless petals, a velutinous...

Commelina L. is the largest genera in the family Commelinaceae. It shows great variation in habit, inflorescence, flower color, capsule dehiscence, seed number, chromosome number, etc. It is represented by ca. 170 spp. in pantropical and the diversity known to occur in tropical Africa and Asia. In India, the genus is represented by twenty five spec...

Taxonomic Revision of all the genera of Commelinaceae, incl. Commelina, Cyanotis, Murdannia, Rhopalephora, Dictyospermum, Pollia, Floscopa, etc.. Total 92 species recognized from 15 genera in India. Detailed description, illustrations, phytogeography and photographs have been provided in unpublished PHD thesis.

A taxonomic revision of the genus Murdannia (Commelinaceae) in India is presented based on field and herbarium studies. Twenty-seven of the fifty-five species in the genus are recognized and it becomes the first largest genus in Indian Commelinaceae. Detailed descriptions of all species including key, illustrations, distributions, specimen citation...

In the course of revising the family Commelinaceae in India, it has been found that no type was indicated in the protologue of Streptolirion volubile Edgew. Thus, it warrants typification under execute Art. 9.2 of the International Code of Nomenclature (McNeill & al. 2012). Though not cited explicitly in the protologue, we consider Edgeworth's own...

The genus Cyanotis D. Don in India is taxonomically revised. Thirteen taxa of Cyanotis have been recognized with their updated nomenclature. Detailed descriptions, illustrations and geographical distribution have been provided. Cyanotis glabrescens (C. fasciculata var. glabrescens) and C. axillaris var. cucullata (Cyanotis cucullata) are new combin...

Citation: Nandikar, M.D. & R.V. Gurav (2014). A taxonomic account of Amischotolype (Commelinaceae) and notes on the occurrence of Porandra in India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 6(5): 5774–5780; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3500. 5774-80

The root parasitic species of Christisonia Gardner (Orobanchaceae) are lectotypified. After screening of herbarium specimens and the results of field expeditions, the morphological characters and distribution of Chritisonia lawii are within the range of C. calcarata. As a result, it is reduced to C. calcarata.

Three commelinaceae members from animal diet (as fodder) were identified and analyzed for their antioxidant capacities by two most common radical scavenging assays of FRAP and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl. Commelina benghalensis, Cyanotis cristata and Rhoeo spathacea all these species belonging to family commelinaceae are not known/studied for the...

Murdannia saddlepeakensis (Commelinaceae), a new species from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, is described and illustrated. The new species is remarkable for its narrowly linear leaves, two fertile stamens, single seeded locule and scorbiculate seeds.

Avenue trees will be most effective in providing “true” shade and a commanding visual contrast between dense landscaping and open space when planted in groups. Moreover, avenues are part of urban forestry and in terms of atmospheric carbon reduction; avenues proffer the advantage of shortest carbon storage to sustain ecological stability of teem...

Rediscovery of Murdannia striatipetala after laps of 111 years from Tamil Nadu.

A new species of Murdannia Royle (Commelinaceae), Murdannia brownii Nandikar & Gurav, is described and illustrated from northern Western Ghats of India. It differs from allied M. versicolor (Dalzell) Bruckn. in having obovate, rose-red to flesh coloured petals, elliptic capsule and falsifoveate-glebulate seed surface.

The genus Flemingia Roxb. ex Ait. & Ait. f. is represented by c. 30 species distributed in the old world tropics. India is home to 16 species and 2 variety of which 5 species and 1 variety are endemic. The genus is of great economic potential as some species are source of dyes while others are used as root crops. In addition to this Flemingia is on...

_Murdannia lanuginosa_ (C. B. Cl.) Brucek. (Commelinaceae), an endemic plant to Western Ghats of Peninsular India. It is categorized as regionally endangered taxon owing to its restricted habitat and low population status in ateritic plateaus of Maharashtra and Karnataka. It is observed in higher abundance in lateritic plateaus and hilly slopes at...

Critical studies on systematics of Murdannia lanuginosa (Wall. EX C. B. Cl) Brueck. (Commelinaceae)

A species of Hubbardia is relocated from its type locality viz. Jog Falls Karnataka, India.

Callisia is a tortuous genus reported to show a wide range of chromosome counts. Present paper reports an unusual chromosome number 2n = 18 for C. fragrans, a number that is so far not known, not only in C. fragrans but also for the entire genus Callisia. The variable chromosome number and varied karyotype architecture is indicative of the fact th...