Author Copy Haseltonia 22: 48–54. 2016 48 THREE NEW SPECIES OF BRACHYSTELMA FROM TAMIL NADU, INDIA S. JOHN BRITTO1,3 PETER V. BRUYNS2,4 1 he Rapinat Herbarium, St. Joseph’s College, Tiruchirappalli 620 002, Tamil Nadu, India 2 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, 7701 Rondebosch, South Africa. 3 4 email: sjbrapinat@gmail.com email: peter.bruyns@uct.ac.za Abstract: hree new species, Brachystelma matthewianum Bruyns & Britto, B. rapinatianum Britto & Bruyns and B. saldanhae Britto & Bruyns (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae, Ceropegieae), from diferent parts of the province of Tamil Nadu in southern India are described and illustrated. Keywords: Apocynaceae, Ceropegieae, SE Asia. INTRODUCTION he genus Brachystelma R. Br. ex Sims, (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae, Ceropegieae) is the second largest in the Ceropegieae and contains approximately 130 species (Dyer, 1980; Meve, 2002). It has a disjunct distribution, with a concentration of nearly 90 species in southern Africa (Germishuizen & Meyer, 2003), of which almost 80 (± 90%) are endemic to southern Africa. Some 27 species occur from SE-Asia to northern Australia, with 22 recorded in India and one in each of Australia, Nepal, New Guinea, the Phillippines, Sri Lanka and hailand. Among the Indian species, four are from the foothills of the Himalaya in northern India and the remainder are from peninsular India, where they are known from the extreme south in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to Maharashtra in the west and are particularly associated with the foothills of the Western Ghats. A total of 21 are endemic to India (Venu and Prasad, 2015). Although it was believed that the genus Brachystelma was monophyletic (Meve & Liede-Schumann, 2007; Ollerton & al., 2009), it has turned out that this was a consequence of inadequate sampling. More detailed sampling has established that Brachystelma consists of at least four distinct lineages and that the SE-Asian-Australian species of Brachystelma (which make up one of these lineages) are not closely related to the other three lineages from Africa (Surveswaran & al., 2009; Bruyns & al., 2015), but are nested in a separate branch of Ceropegia L. to all the African species. In addition, some small, erect species of Ceropegia (such as C. spiralis Wight) are nested among them just as certain small, erect spe- cies of Ceropegia (such as C. turricula E.A. Bruce) are nested among the African species of Brachystelma (Bruyns & al., 2015). Although the SE-Asian species of Brachystelma are all closely related to each other, the relationships among them are not well resolved. his lack of resolution is a consequence of low genetic variation among them (much less than among many of the species of Ceropegia) and suggests that they are recently evolved, as was also found for the major African radiation in Brachystelma (Bruyns & al., 2015). Two unique features stand out among the SE-Asian–Australian species of Brachystelma. One is that some of the Indian species (as in B. brevitubulatum (Bedd.) Gamble, B. volubile Hook.f.) are twiners on the surrounding vegetation. his phenomenon is widespread in Ceropegia, but is otherwise unknown in Brachystelma. Another feature is that the nonclimbing SE-Asian species (from India to northern Australia) are partly hysteranthous: lowers are produced early in the growing season, often on otherwise bare stems before the leaves develop (an example can be seen here in Fig. 4B), sometimes with later lushes of lowers appearing from the same inlorescences among the fully developed leaves (as in Fig. 7D-F). he African species generally lower after the leaves are fully developed (though the recently described B. theronii Bruyns from South Africa is an exception here, also lowering before the leaves are fully developed). Although over 20 species of Brachystelma are now known from SE Asia, their loral diversity does not match that of the African species. he lowers do not achieve the diameters found in such species as B. foetidum Schltr. and B. loribundum Turrill; the Author Copy HASELTONIA VOL. 22. 2016 49 Figure 1. Brachystelma rapinatianum. A, plant; B, tip of stem with inlorescence; C, lower; D, corolla, spread out; E, corona, from above; F, pollinarium. Drawn from: near Tiruchirapalli, RHT 63883 (RHT). tubular corolla of B. gymnopodum (Schltr.) Bruyns and B. oianthum Schltr. is unmatched and masses of foul-smelling, simultaneously opening lowers as in B. buchananii N.E. Br. do not occur. Nevertheless, there are some surprising parallel developments and B. saldanhae described here provides a good example, where the shapes of both the lower and the corona are remarkably similar to that of B. cupulatum R.A. Dyer from southern Africa (Dyer, 1983). During exploration in the central parts of Tamil Nadu, in southern India, the irst author collected specimens of two species of Brachystelma which could not be identiied with any other known species from peninsular India. hese are here described as B. rapinatianum and B. saldanhae. A further species, that also could not be assigned to any known Author Copy 50 A BRITTO & BRUYNS—3 NEW BRACHYSTEMLA FROM INDIA B C Figure 2. Brachystelma rapinatianum. A, three plants dug up showing habit and tubers; B, plant in lower; C, plant in fruit. All from the collection RHT 63883. species, was observed by the second author on the slopes of the Western Ghats near Madurai and this is described here as B. matthewianum. 1. Brachystelma rapinatianum S.J. Britto & P.V. Bruyns sp. nov. Type: India, Tamil Nadu, near Tiruchirappalli, ±100 m, 25 Jan. 2001, Britto sub RHT 65886 (holotype RHT; isotype MH). his new species difers from the other shortstemmed, non-climbing species in India by its relatively long corolla-tube which completely contains the corona and is only slightly shorter than the corolla-lobes. he manner in which the corolla-lobes remain mostly erect or spread only slightly is also characteristic. Perennial geophytic herb to 15 cm tall, arising from an underground globose to spherical cream or pale brown tuber, 1.5–2.5 × 0.8–2.5 cm. Stem annual, unbranched, erect, slender, greenish purple, terete, glandular-puberulous and later glabrescent with internodes 0.8–1 cm long. Leaves subsessile, thin, opposite, narrowly elliptic to linear or oblong, glandular-puberulous, 1–1.5 (2.5) × 0.1–0.2 cm, with cuneate or subacute base, margins entire and shortly ciliolate, gradually acute, apiculate. Inlorescence in extra axillary cymes alongside middle to upper nodes, 2- to 5-lowered, lowers opening in gradual succession; peduncle slender, ascending, 0.8–1.5 (2) cm long, glandular-puberulous; pedicel 0.4–2 cm long, slender, nearly equal to peduncle, glandular-puberulous; bracts linear, 1–2 mm long; sepals lanceolate, green with purplish margins, ± 1 × 0.5 mm, glandular-puberulous. Corolla campanulate, bud beaked and to 7 × 4 mm; tube ± 2 mm long and nearly 2 mm broad at mouth, cup-like and slightly constricted near mouth, pale green to purplish; lobes keeled at base, erect to slightly spreading, pale green with purplish spots along relexed margins, lanceolate-deltate, 2.5–3.5 × 1 mm, acute, outside glabrous, inside with stif to soft whitish hairs. Corona 2-seriate; outer (inter-staminal) series forming obscurely cup-like structure slightly shorter than anthers, consisting of ive deeply cupular lobes with erect obscurely un- dulate rims, slightly less than 1 mm wide, glabrous except for patches of hairs behind and below inner lobes, purplish above the middle and transparent below; inner (staminal) series rising from level of outer (joined to it by broad area), of 5 small linear lobules either pressed to backs of anthers or rising up near tips, < 0.5 mm long (usually not more than half length of anthers), pale yellow sufused with purple, pilose. Follicles to 4 cm long, spreading to erect, acute; seeds 8–10 per follicle, to 1 cm long, each with coma to 1 cm long. Figures 1, 2. Habitat and Distribution: Brachystelma rapinatianum is known from scattered individuals on the plains near Tiruchirappalli in central Tamil Nadu, where it occurred in open patches of short grass and appears after the monsoonal rains. his area receives an average of ± 850 mm of rain annually. IUCN Red list Category: Brachystelma rapinatianum was observed at the type locality over a period of four years from 1998 until 2001, but urban expansion later destroyed this population and no others have been located: rated Vulnerable (V, IUCN 2010). Discussion: his new species shares with the other small, non-climbing species the single, erect stem (Fig. 2A) which bears most of the lowers before the leaves are fully developed. It is unusual among all the Indian species for its signiicant corolla-tube, which is deeper than the corona is tall and nearly equal in length to the lobes. he corolla-lobes in B. rapinatianum also spread only slightly when the lower is open, while in most other species the lobes spread widely. he somewhat cup-like corona formed by an outer series of lobes which enclose the guide-rails is suggestive of the recently described B. mahajanii Kambale & Yadav (Kambale & al., 2014), but in this species the cup-like structure formed by the outer lobes is taller and completely hides the inner lobes, though in both species these inner lobes are short and do not cover the anthers completely. We have named this species for Alfred Rapinat (1892–1959), who founded the Department of Plant Science at St Joseph’s College, Tiruchirapalli and after whom the herbarium of the College is named. Author Copy HASELTONIA VOL. 22. 2016 51 Figure 3. Brachystelma matthewianum. A, side view of lower (scale 2 mm); B, side view of dissected lower (scale as for A); C, side view of corona (scale 1 mm); D, pollinarium (scale of C = 0.25 mm). Drawn from: India, Tamil Nadu, west of Madurai, Bruyns 11488 (E). A B Figure 4. Brachystelma matthewianum. A, habitat of Bruyns 11488, Nov. 2013. B. matthewianum grows in small, lat patches on these granitic slopes; B, B. matthewianum in lower, two lowers open and a third bud on short stem with only immature leaves, Bruyns 11488. 2. Brachystelma matthewianum P.V. Bruyns & S.J. Britto, sp. nov. Type: India, Tamil Nadu, west of Madurai, 1150 m, 27 Aug. 2009, Bruyns 11488 (holotype E). This new species difers from B. mahajanii by the shorter, deltate corolla-lobes, by the longer corollatube that contains the corona and by the taller corona with outer lobes deeply indented towards the centre opposite the anthers and with hairs on the inside alternating with the anthers. Perennial geophytic herb to 5 cm tall, arising from an underground globose to lattened pale brown tuber, 1–2 × 1–2.5 cm. Stem annual, fewbranched, spreading, slender, dark greenish purple, terete, sparsely puberulous, internodes 0.5–1 cm long. Leaves ± sessile, slightly leshy, opposite, linear, sparsely puberulous, 1–3 × 0.1–0.5 cm (those at base reduced to subulate scales to 2 mm long), with cuneate or subacute base, margins entire and shortly ciliolate, gradually acute, apiculate. Inlorescence in few extra-axillary cymes alongside middle to upper nodes, 1- to 3-lowered, lowers opening in gradual succession; sessile, sparsely puberulous; pedicel 1–5 mm long, slender, puberulous; bracts linear, ± 1 mm long; sepals lanceolate, green, 1–1.5 × 0.5 mm, sparsely puberulous. Corolla campanulate, outside purplebrown, glabrous; inside pale yellow becoming brown near tips of lobes, glabrous; tube ± 1.5 mm long and 2 mm broad at mouth, cup-like and ± equalling corona; lobes erect to spreading, deltate with slightly relexed margins, 3.0–3.5 × 2 mm, acute. Corona 2-seriate; outer (inter-staminal) series forming cup-like structure 1.5 mm tall and 2 mm broad ± illing tube and much exceeding height of anthers, consisting of ive erect and truncate lobes heavily indented between them with erect rims, slightly less than 1 mm wide, glabrous outside and with straight white hairs inside in patches alternating with anthers, mottled and margined with purple-black on yellow; inner (staminal) series arising from below middle of outer series, of 5 small deltate lobules just touching backs of anthers, ± 0.25 mm long, yellow mottled with purple, glabrous. Follicles and seeds unknown. Figures 3, 4. Habitat and Distribution: Brachystelma matthewianum is so far known only from a single area on the eastern slopes of the higher mountains west of Madurai, which form outliers of the Western Ghats. Here it occurs in small, almost level patches of shallow soil overlaying granite on steep slopes (Fig. 4A). hese patches have relatively little other vegetation except for other small geophytes and some small annuals, while deeper soil nearby and higher up the slopes has an often dense covering of trees. IUCN Red list Category: Brachystelma matthewianum is known only from the type locality, where few plants were seen: rated Vulnerable (V, IUCN Author Copy 52 BRITTO & BRUYNS—3 NEW BRACHYSTEMLA FROM INDIA 2010). Discussion: Also a non-climbing plant, Brachystelma matthewianum is particularly small, rarely exceeding 5 cm tall, with short stems that branch sparsely and remain close to the ground. Most of the lowers are borne before the leaves are fully developed. Along with B. rapinatianum, it shares the non-climbing habit and signiicant corolla-tube, but this is shorter than in B. rapinatianum and only half the length of the lobes. In B. matthewianum, the deeply cup-like corona formed by the considerable fusion of the outer series of lobes is also suggestive of B. mahajanii. However, in B. matthewianum the cup-like structure formed by the outer lobes is taller and has strongly undulating sides (deeply indented behind the anthers). Unlike B. mahajanii, where they are lanceolate, the corolla-lobes here are deltate, while the corona is just contained in the corolla-tube (whereas it projects from a short tube 1–1.2 mm long in B. mahajanii). Inside, the cup-like outer corona has patches of white hairs alternating with the anthers and these are absent in B. mahajanii. We have named this species for Koyapillil M. Matthew (1930–2004), who was for many years Director of the Rapinat Herbarium at St Joseph’s College, Tiruchirapalli and who initiated and published the well-known illustrated Flora of the Tamil Nadu Carnatic. 3. Brachystelma saldanhae S.J. Britto & P.V. Bruyns sp. nov. Type: India, Tamil Nadu, Salem District, Servarayan hills, 6 km from Yercaud, 1690 m, 15 July 2002, Britto sub RHT 73892 (holotype RHT, isotype MH). his species most resembles B. mahajanii, but difers from it in the narrower corolla-lobes and the cup-like outer corona which is raised on a short stipe and has a more or less entire, slightly inward-pointing rim and patches of hairs inside alternating with the anthers. Perennial erect geophytic herb 5–10 (20) cm tall with 1–several stems arising from underground lattened-globose to spherical tuber 1.5–2.5 × 2–4 cm. Stem annual, unbranched or branching (sometimes densely) just above tuber, erect, slender, mainly purplish brown, glabrescent. Leaves subsessile, opposite, narrowly linear to linear-lanceolate, 1–4 (5) × 0.2– 0.4 cm, green soon becoming brownish to purplish green, glandular-puberulous, narrowing to base, margins minutely ciliolate, acute-apiculate. Inlorescence in terminal and extra-axillary cymes alongside upper nodes, with 2–8 lowers often opening in quick succession in groups; peduncle ± absent; pedicel slender, spreading and often descending towards tip, 4–6 mm long, purplish-brown, glandular-puberulous; bracts linear, ± 1 mm long; sepals linear-lanceolate, 1–1.5 mm long, purplish green, glandular-puberulous. Corolla ± rotate, 8–10 mm broad; outside greenish yellow becoming purplish brown towards base, glabrous; inside bright yellow from tips to middle of lobes and below this purple-brown or with irregular purple-brown blotches on yellow, glabrous; tube very shallowly plate-like (< 0.5 mm long); lobes convex inside, lanceolate-deltate, 3–4 × 1.5–2 mm, obtuse. Corona 2-seriate; outer (inter staminal) series fused into broadly cup-like structure slightly narrowing towards mouth and much exceeding anthers, ± 1 × 1.5–2 mm, above with purple-brown blotches on inner and outer surface, below bright yellow, margin obscurely lobed, inner surface with downward-pointing stif white hairs in tufts alternating with anthers; inner (staminal) series of ive short bright yellow linear-obtuse lobules arising below middle of cupular structure and fused to it behind, pressed to but not exceeding anthers. Follicles to 6 cm long, puberulous, greenish to purplish brown, tapering to apices; seeds 8–10 per follicle, to 6 mm long, each with coma to 1 cm long. Figures 5–7. Habitat and Distribution: Brachystelma saldanhae is known from exposed granitic domes at around 1600 m in the Servarayan (Shevaroy) Hills near Salem. Here it occurs in small clusters of individuals in patches of shallow (30–80 mm deep), seasonally very wet soil with small sedges and other minute herbs. IUCN Red list Category: he type collection was made in July 2002, but it has been known in the area for many years and PVB was shown plants nearby in 1993 by A.A. Ansari of the Botanical Survey of India. At the same spot in August 2009 (when the pictures in Fig. 7 were taken) it was found that recent mining for bauxite has resulted in large piles of overburden being dumped close to the area where B. saldanhae occurs, partly covering and greatly reducing its habitat. It is rated Vulnerable (V, IUCN 2010). Discussion: he pretty lowers of Brachystelma saldanhae are unlike any other known from India for their bright colours. In their shape they are reminiscent of B. cupulatum R.A. Dyer from southern Africa (Dyer, 1983). Nevertheless, B. saldanhae is closely related to the other Indian species rather than to any African ones (Bruyns & al., 2015, where material from the collection Bruyns 5952 was sequenced and included erroneously under the name B. mahajanii). he cup-like corona formed by the outer series of lobes which enclose the guide-rails is suggestive of B. mahajanii, but it difers from that species in that this cup-like structure is broader, the margin is incurved and its interior has patches of stif hairs alternating with the anthers. In B. mahajanii the margin of this structure is deeply indented into erect teeth and the inside is glabrous. In young plants, when the tuber is small, the stem is more elongated and mostly solitary. In mature plants with larger tubers (as in Fig. 6) there is often profuse branching just above the tuber but the stems are shorter. Brachystelma saldanhae is named for Cecil J. Saldanha (1926–2002), who founded and directed the Centre for Taxonomic Studies in Bangalore and wrote an account of the Flora of the Hassan District, Karnataka. Author Copy HASELTONIA VOL. 22. 2016 53 Figure 5. Brachystelma saldanhae. A, face view of lower (scale 2 mm); B, side view of dissected lower (scale as for A); C, oblique view of corona (scale 1 mm); D, pollinarium (scale of C = 0.25 mm). Drawn from: near Yercaud, 8 Oct. 1993, Bruyns 5952 (E). Additional Material seen: India, Tamil Nadu, near Yercaud, 8 Oct. 1993, Bruyns 5952 (E, K). REFERENCES Bruyns, P.V., Klak, C., Hanáček, P. (2015). Recent radiation of Brachystelma and Ceropegia (Apocynaceae) across the Old World against a background of climatic change. Molecular Phylogentics and. Evolution 90: 49–66. Dyer, R.A. 1980. Asclepiadaceae (Brachystelma, Ceropegia, Riocreuxia). Flora of southern Africa 27 (4). Botanical Research Institute, Pretoria, Gauteng, South, Africa: pp. 1–91. Dyer, R.A., 1983. Ceropegia, Brachystelma and Riocreuxia in Southern Africa. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam. Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds) (2003). Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria. IUCN Standards and Petitions Subcommittee (2010). Guidelines for using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, Version 8. Prepared by the Standards and petitions Subcommittee in March 2010. Kambale, S.S., Surveswaran, S. and Yadav, S.R. 2014. Two new species of Brachystelma Sims (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae-Ceropegieae) from the Western Ghats of India, Kew Bulletin 69: 1–10. Meve, U. 2002. Brachystelma, In: Albers, F. and U. Meve (eds.), Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Asclepiadaceae. Spinger-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, pp. 20–46. Figure 6. Brachystelma saldanhae. Whole plant excavated, near Yercaud, RHT 73892. his depicts a mature specimen with many branches arising just above the tuber. Author Copy 54 BRITTO & BRUYNS—3 NEW BRACHYSTEMLA FROM INDIA A B C D E F Figure 7. Brachystelma saldanhae. A, B, C, plants in habitat: fruiting in B, lowering in C, with very ine leaves indistinguishable from leaves of surrounding grasses. D—F, diferent plants lowering. Near Yercaud, Aug. 2009, Bruyns 5952 (E) Meve, U., Liede-Schumann, S., 2007. Ceropegia (Apocynaceae, Ceropegieae, Stapeliinae): paraphyletic but still taxonomically sound. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 94: 392–406. Ollerton, J., Masinde, S., Meve, U., Picker, M., Whittington, A., 2009. Fly pollination in Ceropegia (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae): biogeographic and phylogenetic perspectives. Annals of Botany 103: 1501–1514. Surveswaran, S., Kamble, M.Y., Yadav, S.R., Sun, M. (2009). Molecular phylogeny of Ceropegia (Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae) from Indian Western Ghats. 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