The rediscovery of Uraria lacei Craib (Leguminosae) after 67 years from India

Abstract

Manipur is one of the biodiversity-rich states in the North-Eastern region of India, and it is also part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot with rich plant diversity and endemism. Recent field exploration in the area has resulted in the rediscovery of Uraria lacei Craib after 67 years from its last collection in 1952. The rediscovery of this beautiful species fills a gap in the current distribution knowledge and should pave the way for its immediate conservation and propagation.

Reinstatement and lectotypification of Uraria pulchra (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae)

“…Field studies were carried out in six states of Northeast India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, during 2018 and 2019. Specimens of U. lacei were rediscovered after 67 years from Manipur, India (Gogoi & Rana 2020). The distribution map was generated using QGIS 3.18.1-Zürich (Map 1).…”

“…The climate and topography of both phytogeographic Uraria lacei Craib (1910: 276) NOTES. The description provided in Gogoi & Rana (2020) for Uraria lacei does not include the characters of U. pulchra. TYPIFICATION.…”

“…In India, the genus is represented by 8 -12 species which occur mainly in the tropical and sub-tropical regions (Baker 1879;Sanjappa 1992;Gaur 1999;Kirtikar & Basu 2001). The species Uraria lacei Craib (1910: 276) has a range that extends through China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam (Gogoi & Rana 2020) and within India it is narrowly distributed in the states of Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland. U. pulchra was described by Haines (1921: 308) and subsequently placed into synonymy with U. lacei without explanation by Thuan et al (1987).…”

“…U. pulchra was described by Haines (1921: 308) and subsequently placed into synonymy with U. lacei without explanation by Thuan et al (1987). Subsequent publications have continued to treat U. pulchra as synonymous with U. lacei (Sanjappa 1992;Kumar & Sane 2003;Ohashi et al 2006;Tokaew 2015;Gogoi & Rana 2020;IPNI 2020;BVN 2021;ILDIS 2021;POWO 2021;TPL 2021). This study presents a detailed morphological analysis which supports the status of U. lacei and U. pulchra as distinct species.…”

Lectotypification of Uraria prunellifolia and U. paniculata (Leguminosae): Names associated with medicinally important rare plants

“…Uraria paniculata C.B.Clarke is a synonym of U. lacei Craib. Uraria lacei is rare and was only recently rediscovered after 68 years from Manipur, India (Gogoi & Rana, 2020) and is in dire need of conservation. During the taxonomic revision of the genus Uraria in India, we observed that the names, U. prunellifolia and U. paniculata still need lectotypification.…”