Ceropegia bhatii S.R.Yadav & Shendage

Yadav, S.R. & Shendage, S.M. Kew Bull (2010) 65: 107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-010-9189-0

Morphology General Habit

Perennial twining herbs

Morphology Roots

Rootstock tuberous; tubers 2 – 2.5 cm in diam.; roots few, fibrous

Morphology Stem

Stem solitary, cylindrical, twining, unbranched, up to 1 m in length, ciliate below, glabrous above, 1 – 2 mm in diam. Leaves simple, decussate, petiolate; petiole 0.5 – 0.8 cm long; lamina linear to linear-lanceolate, 4.5 – 9 × 0.4 – 1.5 cm, acuminate, tapering at base, scabrous, sparsely hairy above, glabrous below, margin ciliate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Cymes axillary or extra axillary, two flowered; peduncles 0.5 – 1 cm long, filiform, glabrous; pedicel 6 – 8 × 0.5 – 0.8 mm, glabrous; bract solitary, c. 1 – 3 × 0.2 – 0.5 mm, linear, acuminate, glabrous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Sepals 3 – 5 × 0.6 – 0.9 mm, linear, acuminate, glabrous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla 3 – 3.8 cm long, greenish yellow; corolla tube 1.5 – 2 cm long, slightly dilated at the base, glabrous, striated with purplish brown lines on the upper half inside, the lower inflated part blotched inside; corolla lobes 1.3 – 1.8 cm long, linear oblong with acute apex, greenish, glabrous, connate at tip forming an ovoid head

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corona

Outer corona of five deeply emarginate purple lobes, cupular, ciliate along margins; inner corona of five linear, purple lobes, usually divergent, up to 3 mm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pollen

Pollen masses yellow, attached to the brown pollen carriers by short caudicles

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pollinarium

Pollinarium 0.3 × 0.15 mm

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Hypanthium

Follicles in pair, up to 8 × 0.3 cm, straight, erect, tapering at both ends, glabrous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds c. 4 × 1.5 mm, ovate, oblong; coma 0.8 – 1.4 cm long, white, silky.

Distribution

India, MalebennurGhat of Davangere distr., Karnataka State.

Ecology

In open grasslands with scattered shrubs; c. 600 – 625 m. Associated and typical members of the vegetation include Anogeissus latifolia (Roxb. ex DC.) Wall. ex Guill. & Perr., Dolichandron espathacea, (L. f.) K. Schum. Wrightia tinctoria, R. Br., Cymbopogon caesius (Nees) Stapf and Tylophora fasciculata Buch.-Ham.

Conservation

As the species is restricted to 5 km2 area, and only 35 individuals have so far been located, we consider it Critically Endangered (CR). However, further work will be needed to establish a reliable conservation assessment.

Phenology

Flowering and fruiting August – November.

Note

Ceropegia bhatii is similar to C. noorjahaniae M. A. Ansari but differs in its twining habit and two-flowered cyme (as against erect habit and three-flowered cyme in C. noorjahaniae). Also, the corolla tube in C. bhatii is only slightly inflated whereas in C. noorjahaniae it is conspicuously inflated to more than twice as wide as in the uninflated part. The margins of the corolla lobe bases in the C. bhatii are not recurved while in C. noorjahaniae they are strongly recurved. The species is named after Prof. K. Gopalakrishna Bhat, Department of Botany, Poornaprajna College, Udupi for his contributions in the field of taxonomy and floristics.