—57—

J. Jpn. Bot. 92(1): 57–61 (2017)

Sachin Patila,* and Meena Dongareb: Genus Aleuritopteris (Pteridaceae) from Northern Western Ghats, India

aDepartment of Botany, Vijaysinh Yadav, Arts and Science College, Peth-Vadgoan, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, INDIA;bLaboratory of Pteridology, Department of Botany, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, INDIA*Corresponding author: sach2010d@gmail.com

Summary: During the present investigation a fern genus Aleuritopteris Fée was studied from northern Western Ghats, India. About four species of Aleuritopteris were collected, of which A. rufa (D. Don) Ching was collected for the first time and reported as a new record for Western Ghats. Notes on the species description, range and a phytogeographical note of the species are given along with a key to the species.

Aleuritopteris Fée, previously treated as Cheilanthes subg. Aleuritopteris (Fée) W. C. Shieh, and all the species, except A. stenochlamys Ching ex S. K. Wu, have names in the genus Cheilanthes. However, the name Aleuritopteris has been recognized by Ching and Wu (1983) and other Chinese pteridologists (Fraser-Jenkins and Dulawat 2009). It is a distinct isolated genus of cheilanthoid ferns in the family Pteridaceae, commonly known as “floury bread or silver ferns” due to the presence of white, or sometimes yellow flavonoid farina beneath the lamina. The species are usually well-marked and readily distinguishable by their stipe-scales (bicolorous or concolorous) and their distribution on the axes, though most were at one time referred to the African and Arabian species. Based on molecular data, the genus comprises 70 species out of which India has 20 species (Khullar 1994, Fraser-Jenkins 1997, 2008). During the present investigation four species were collected. Amongst these Aleuritopteris rufa (D. Don) Ching was recognized for the first time and reported as a new distributional record for Western Ghats, India.

Materials and MethodsField visits were carried out from June

2010 to December 2013 for the collection of Aleuritopteris species from Northern Western Ghats. It includes western parts of Maharashtra, Northern part of Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka state and Goa states (Fig. 1). The collected specimens are preserved in Herbarium, Department of Botany, Shivaji University, Kolhapur and identified by using the floristic accounts of Beddome (1884), Blatter and d’Almedia (1922), Dixit (1984), Manickam and Irudayaraj (1992) and Fraser-Jenkins (2008).

Taxonomic treatmentKey to the species of Aleuritopteris

1a. Fronds densely covered with dark brown hairs .................................................. 4. A. rufa

1a. Fronds glabrous ........................................... 22a. Lamina deltoid or triangular ..... 2. A. anceps2b. Lamina oblong- or ovate-lanceolate .......... 3 3a. Rachis covered with hairs throughout ..........

......................................... 1. A. albomarginata3b. Rachis glabrous except for the part of stipe

..................................................... 3. A. bicolor

1. Aleuritopteris albomarginata (C. B. Clarke) Ching in Hong Kong Naturalist 10: 109 (1941); Ghosh & al., Pterid. Fl. E. Ind.: 401 (2004); Fraser-Jenk., Taxon. Rev. Ind. Subcont. Pterid.: 126 (2008).

Cheilanthes albomarginata C. B. Clarke in Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Bot. 1: 456, t. 52 (1880).

Aleuritopteris subrufa (Baker) Ching in

February 2017 TheJournal of Japanese Botany Vol. 92 No. 1 61

rounded to acuminate; pinnae with 5–8 lobes in pairs, herbaceous or leathery, green, covered with multicellular hairs and white powdery wax on the lower side, opposite or subopposite, sessile, basal lobe acroscopic, middle pinnae oblong, round at apex, adnate at base, lower larger pinnule is oblong, subdeltoid, falcate; vein dichotomously branched ends freely, reaches towards the margin; vein and veinlets are covered with hairs; sori marginal to submarginal, along veinlets, protected by reflexed margin, which ruptures at maturity, appearing more or less continuous; spores 23–28 µm in diameter, round, somewhat triangular to globose, exine much folded, irregular.

Locality: Maharashtra – Satara: Kas, Panchgani and Medha Ghat.

Conservation status: Aleuritopteris rufa (D. Don.) Ching was collected from Kas, Panchgani and Medha Ghat regions situated in Northern Western Ghats of India. A population of about 100 individuals was found per locality. The area of occupancy is 0.5–1 km2 per locality. Hence, it is assessed as critically endangered (CE) species following the IUCN categories and criteria (IUCN 2001).

Specimens examined: INDIA. Maharashtra, Satara Dt., Panchgani, S. M. Patil (SUK 20035); Panchgani, S. M. Patil (BLAT 0001).

Authors are very much thankful to the Head, Department of Botany, Shivaji University, Kolhapur for providing laboratory facilities.

ReferencesBeddome R. H. 1883. A Handbook to the Ferns of British

India, Ceylon and Malay Peninsula. Thackar Spink & Co, Calcutta (reprint ed. 1978, Today and Tomorrows Printers and Publishers, New Delhi).

Blatter E. and d’Almeida J. F. 1922. The Ferns of Bombay. D B Taraporevala and Sons & Co, Bombay.

Ching R. C. and Wu S. K. 1983. Pteridophytes. In: Wu C. Y. (ed.), Flora Xizangica 1: 1–355. Science Press, Beijing (in Chinese).

Dixit R. D. 1984. A Census of Indian Pteridophytes, Flora of India. Botanical Survey of India, Howarh.

Fraser-Jenkins C. R. 1997. New Species Syndrome in Indian Pteridology and the Ferns of Nepal, and Two Errata. International Book Distributors, Dehra Dun.

Fraser-Jenkins C. R. 2008. Taxonomic Revision of Three Hundred Indian Subcontinental Pteridophytes with a Revised Census List. A New Picture of Fern Taxonomy and Nomenclature in the Indian Subcontinent. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun.

Fraser-Jenkins C. R. and Dulawat C. S. 2009. A summary of Indian cheilanthoid ferns and the discovery of Negripteris (Pteridaceae), an Afro-Arabian fern genus new to India. Fern Gaz. 18: 216–229.

IUCN 2001. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1. IUCN Species Survival Commission. IUCN, Gland.

Khullar S. P. 1994. An Illustrated Fern Flora of West Himalaya Vol. 1. International Book Distributors, Dehra Dun.

S. Patila，M. Dongareb：インド・北部ウエスタンガーツ山脈のヒメウラジロ属（イノモトソウ科）　インド・北部ウエスタンガーツ山脈のヒメウラジロ属（イノモトソウ科）を調べたところ，4種が得られた．このうち，Aleuritopteris rufa (D. Don) Chingはウエスタンガーツ山脈での新記録である．ここではこれら 4種の検索表，各種の異名，記載，分布域などを示した．

（aインド・Arts and Science College Department of Botany，

bインド・Shivaji University Department of Botany Laboratory of Pteridology）