Thunbergia kasajuana Bh.Adhikari & J.R.I.Wood

Adhikari, B., Wood, J.R.I. Thunbergia kasajuana, a new species of Acanthaceae from Nepal. Kew Bull 75, 26 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-020-9883-5

Morphology General Habit

Herbaceous climber to 4 m

Morphology Stem

Stem angular, sulcate, hirsute, more densely so towards the nodes

Morphology Leaves

Leaves petiolate, ovate or ovate-triangular, 5 – 9 × 3.5 – 6.5 cm, base cordate to hastate, apex acuminate, margin irregularly and shallowly dentate, palmately 5 – 7-veined, both surfaces sparsely strigose, more densely so towards the margin and veins; petioles 2 – 5 cm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers solitary in the leaf axils or in the axils of bracts, often aggregated into terminal racemes, racemes 3 – 12 cm long, pedicels 1 – 1.5 cm; bracts small, ovate, 5 – 10 × 2 – 4 mm, minutely pubescent; bracteoles green, ovate, 1.5 – 2 × 1 – 1.5 cm, apex mucronate, minutely pubescent, the pubescence denser at the margins; calyx annular, unlobed, 1.5 – 2 mm long in flower, accrescent to 3 mm in fruit; corolla white, the throat yellowish with pinkish veins, glabrous internally and externally, tube 2.5 – 3.5 cm, constricted at base for c- 0.5 cm then gradually widened to 1 cm at mouth, lobes obovate to rounded, 0.5 – 0.8 × 0.5 – 1 cm; filaments slightly unequal, shorter 8 – 10 mm, longer 9 – 12 mm, anthers bearded, spurred, the spur 2 – 3 mm, finely acuminate; ovary glabrous, style 2.5 – 3 cm, stigma bilobed, lobes subequal, upper folded inwards, lower spreading

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Capsule glabrous or minutely pubescent, basal part 1 – 1.5 cm wide, beak 2 – 2.5 cm long; seeds 5 – 7 mm

Distribution

Endemic to central Nepal.

Conservation

Thunbergia kasajuana is known from only 3 – 4 individuals in one population in Bhaktapur district of Central Nepal. More extensive collections from similar habitats from subtropical and temperate regions of Nepal will be needed to confirm its conservation status but the forest where it is found is reported to be still in good condition. Saroj Kasaju also reports having seen it on Shivapuri Hill near Kathmandu, but no specimens have been seen. It is accordingly categorised as Data Deficient according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2012), until more information about its distribution and the status of its population becomes available.

Phenology

This species flowers in August and September at the end of the wet monsoon season and has been found in fruit in September and December.

Note

The specific epithet kasajuana honours Mr Saroj Kumar Kasaju, who first discovered and photographed the species. Mr Kasaju is a citizen scientist contributing to our understanding of the flora of Nepal by taking photos of plant species from Nepal and India. He was actively involved in the identification of this species.