Two new species of Portulaca (Portulacaceae) from India

Abstract

Portulaca badamica, and P. lakshminarasimhaniana, from Bagalkot district, (Karnataka State, India), are described as new species for Science. P. badamica is an annual, slender and sparsely branched herb usually with cleistogamous flowers, while P. lakshminarasimhaniana is woody, perennial, subshrub with pinkish red coloured flowers, capsules with elongated hemispherical operculum and seeds with peculiar metallic shine. P. badamica is morphologically similar to P. pilosa from which differs in having annual, slender, sparsely branched, erect habit, usually cleistogamous yellow flowers,3–4 fid style, 8–12 stamens, bluish seeds with stellulate flat cells without central elevations. P. lakshminarasimhaniana is similar to P. suffrutescens but differs from it by its non-tuberous root, stem scabrous with scaly bark, dark pink to red flowers, 8–15 stamens, strictly 4 fid style and oblong capsules.

Taxonomic notes on southern Indian Portulaca (Portulacaceae)

“…2, 3). Dalavi et al (2018) may have overlooked the earlier described taxon P. suffruticosa, because it was treated as a synonym of either P. pilosa or P. tuberosa by most of the earlier workers. They compared their new species with P. suffrutescens Engelm.…”

“…The types and all the taxonomic characters (habit, stem, inflorescence, bracts, sepals, petals, stamens, gynoecium, capsule and seeds) of P. badamica are similar to those of P. tuberosa. Dalavi et al (2018) Perennial, prostrate or decumbent herb. Stem terete, up to 10 cm long, much branched, light purplish, glabrous; internodes very short, 1.5-3 mm long.…”

“…In a subsequent account of the flora of Ceylon, Wadhwa & Weerasooriya (1996) resurrected P. suffruticosa from the synonymy of P. tuberosa . In addition to this, three new species have recently been described from southern India: P. lakshminarasimhaniana S.R.Yadav & Dalavi (Dalavi et al ., 2018) from Karnataka, P. laljii P.Sivaramakrishna & P.Yugandhar from Andhra Pradesh (Sivaramakrishna & Yugandhar, 2020), and P. badamica S.R.Yadav & Dalavi (Dalavi et al ., 2018), also from Karnataka.…”

Improvement of a Traditional Orphan Food Crop, Portulaca oleracea L. (Purslane) Using Genomics for Sustainable Food Security and Climate-Resilient Agriculture

“…The genus Portulaca shows a great phenotypic plasticity in its various traits such as flower, fruit, leaves, stem, and growing habit (Coelho and Giulietti, 2010). The members of Portulaca genus are either herbaceous perennials or annuals usually with tuberous roots, slightly succulent stem, and leaves with alternate or rarely opposite phyllotaxy and cymose terminal inflorescences (Nyffeler and Eggli, 2010;Walters et al, 2011;Ocampo and Columbus, 2012;Dalavi et al, 2018). The flowers are sessile or rarely pedicellate and are easily distinguishable by their inflorescence and fruits which are operculate capsules termed as pyxidia (Nyffeler and Eggli, 2010).…”

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“…The Portulaca (Moss Rose) includes about 200 species of herbaceous plants, almost all of them succulent, with fleshy stems and leaves, of a more or less dark green colour. They can be annual or perennial and with an erect or prostrate posture [1][2]. They have flat or cylindrical leaves, which often have a tuft of hair at the base.…”