Summary
A new species, Lepidagathis ushae Borude, Gosavi & Chandore from the lateritic plateaus of the Konkan region, Maharashtra, India, is described and illustrated. Lepidagathis ushae sp. nov. is closely related to L. keralensis Madhus. & N.P.Singh but differs in its cylindrical stem, pubescent leaves with 4 – 5 pairs of lateral or secondary nerves, spike c. 7 cm long with 7 – 15 flowers, pedicellate flowers, and pyramidal capsules with a single seed. It is restricted to an area of about 30 km2 and should be considered Critically Endangered (CR, B1b (iii, v)) according to IUCN (2017) categories and criteria.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the World Wild Fund (WWF), India for financial assistance. They are also grateful to the Director and Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew for providing images of Lepidagathis keralensis specimens. Thanks to Dr Sharad S. Kambale, Department of Botany, Maratha Vidya Prasarak Samaj’s, Arts, Commerce & Science College, Tryambakeshwar, Nashik; Dr Mayur Nandikar, Naoroji Godrej Centre for Plant Research, Shirval; and Mr Rohit Mane, Department of Botany, Shivaji University Kolhapur, for their necessary help. Thanks also to Mr Nilesh Madhav, Department of Botany, Abasaheb Marathe Arts & New Commerce Science College, Rajapur for preparing the illustration. We are thankful to the Principals of Abasaheb Marathe Arts and New Commerce, Science College, Rajapur and of HPT Arts & RYK Science College, Nashik for providing access to their laboratory facilities.
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Borude, D.B., Natekar, P.D., Gosavi, K.V.C. et al. Lepidagathis ushae: a new species of Acanthaceae from the lateritic plateaus of the Konkan region, Maharashtra, India. Kew Bull 75, 19 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-020-9878-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-020-9878-2