The genus Canscora Lam, known presently from Africa, Australia and tropical Asia, is represented in India by 13 species of which ten are found in Kerala. During our taxonomic studies of Gentianaceae in Kerala, India, the authors collected a species of Canscora from the lateritic region of northern Kerala which, on critical examination and perusal of relevant literature, proved to be Canscora stricta Sedgw., a species hitherto known only from Karnataka State of central Western Ghats.
Submitted date: 13 June 2013 Accepted date: 26 October 2013 Published date: 30 August 2014 Pp. 132–134.
Andrographis longipedunculata (Sreem.) L.H. Cramer (Acanthaceae) from northwest India
U. Tiwari* & K. Ravikumar *Corresponding author. E-mail: tigerumesh11@gmail.com
As a part of survey and collection of medicinal plants of India, under the Center of Excellence Programme supported by the Ministry of Environment & Forests, the authors collected the endemic species Andrographis longipedunculata (Sreem.) L.H. Cramer in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. This species has so far not been reported in these states
Submitted date: 9 April 2013 Accepted date: 1 May 2014 Published date: 30 August 2014 Pp. 110–131, pls. 12–13.
A COMPILATION AND ANALYSIS OF FOOD PLANTS UTILIZATION OF SRI LANKAN BUTTERFLY LARVAE (PAPILIONOIDEA)
H.D. Jayasinghe*, S.S. Rajapaksha & C. de Alwis *Corresponding author. E-mail: himesh.jayasinghe1@gmail.com
Abstract Larval food plants (LFPs) of Sri Lankan butterflies are poorly documented in the historical literature and there is a great need to identify LFPs in conservation perspectives. Therefore, the current study was designed and carried out during the past decade. A list of LFPs for 207 butterfly species (Super family Papilionoidea) of Sri Lanka is presented based on local studies and includes 785 plant-butterfly combinations and 480 plant species. Many of these combinations are reported for the first time in Sri Lanka. The impact of introducing new plants on the dynamics of abundance and distribution of butterflies, the possibility of butterflies being pests on crops, and observations of LFPs of rare butterfly species, are discussed. This information is crucial for the conservation management of the butterfly fauna in Sri Lanka.
Abstract Lumnitzera racemosa is a non-viviparous evergreen mangrove tree species. It is a massive bloomer from mid-July to mid-August. The flowers are bisexual, self-compatible, self-pollinating and exhibit a mixed breeding system. The plant is temporally dioecious with marked protandry and a non-receptive stigma on day one of anthesis with a receptive stigma on days two and three. Fruit set is approximately 90% due to self and cross-pollination. The floral characters are related to pollination by generalized flower-visiting insects, notably actinomorphy, white spreading petals, limited but easily accessible nectar, and position of stamens. Pollinators include bees, wasps and butterflies. Fruits are invariably 1-seeded despite the presence of 3–5 ovules. Natural regeneration is low perhaps due to abortion of embryos or the feeding of embryos by small grubs. Fallen mature fruits become fibrous in water and this may aid dispersal in the sea. However, fruit germination and seedling establishment is curtailed due to their salinity-sensitivity.
Key words : floral sexual functions, fruit set, germination, mixed breeding system, seedling
Submitted date: 13 March 2013 Accepted date: 25 April 2014 Published date: 30 August 2014 Pp. 90–99, pls. 7–8.
MELITTOPHILY AND MALACOPHILY IN Ipomoea pes-caprae (CONVOLVULACEAE)
A.J. Solomon Raju*, P. Suvarna Raju & K. Venkata Ramana *Corresponding author. E-mail: ajsraju@yahoo.com
Abstract Ipomoea pes-caprae is a mangrove associate often found along shorelines. It flowers during August–February and is hermaphroditic and an obligate out-crosser due to self-incompatibility. It is both melittophilous and malacophilous. The natural fruit set rate is less than 10% probably due to the wastage of pollen in self-pollination, the ephemeral nature of flowers, predation, and nutrient requirements. Seeds are impermeable to water and germinate readily if they are covered and abraded by sand; those exposed to seawater rot and subsequently perish. The low natural fruit set rate, the mortality of seeds and seedlings due to rotting, burial by sand, space constraint, and shading by established plants appear to be regulating the population size of I. pes-caprae. The plant also propagates vegetatively through the expansion of branches that are broken into fragments by storm waves, transported by water, and then washed onshore into new locations.
Key words : creeper, mangrove associate, post-zygotic self-incompatibility, vegetative propagation