Piper travancorianum P. K. Mukh., 2020

Mukherjee, Prasanta Kumar, 2020, Nomenclatural notes on Piper (Piperaceae) from India III, Phytotaxa 441 (3), pp. 263-273 : 270-271

10. Piper travancorianum P. K. Mukh. nom. nov

Piper argyrophyllum Miq. var. 2 Hook. f. Fl. Brit. India 5: 94.1886 nomen. invalid.

Type:— INDIA: Madras & Travancore (lectotype designated here Wallich Num. list no. 6642 J, K ( K001124383 -image!; isotype U (U1476731-image!); syntypes Wallich Num. list no.6642E K ( K001124382 -image!), Courtallum, Wight –n. v., Concan? Stocks n. v.

This taxon can be distinguished from P. argyrophyllum , P. kurgianum and P. courtallensis by having membranaceous leaves with weaker veins, not whitish beneath and spikes of both sexes longer than leaves. Piper kurgianum has nodes manifestly swollen and bracts decurrent, ovate, and fimbriate at edges. In P. argyrophyllum the female spike is shorter than leaves and the bracts are confluent with the rachis.

Leaves lanceolate to elliptic, sub equal sided, membranaceous, 8–10 cm long and 4–6 cm broad, nodes somewhat swollen petiole slightly shorter than the rachis, not white beneath, apex acuminate, base acute equal or sub equal; veins 5, 2 basal lateral veins are weak and 2 upper lateral veins arise just above the base, stronger than the basals, merging towards the apex. Male spikes slender, one and half times the length of the lamina, female spikes slender 10 to 15 cm long; bracts decurrent, ovate, and fimbriate at edges; fruits loosely arranged, oblong ovate.

Distribution:— INDIA: Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka (?)

Note:— Hooker (1886) cited Wallich Num list nos. 6642 E and 6642 J while describing his var. 2 of P. argyrophyllum . These specimens are present at K and U under the name P. malamiri . The specimens at K are mounted on the same sheet: 6642 E (with a male branch on the left (K001124382) and 6642 I (as mentioned on the original label on the right hand top corner and not ‘J’ as on the other label or as mentioned by Hooker) a female branch on the right (K001124383). These were collected from Travancore in 1815. They are similar in their leaves and general appearance of the spikes and represent both sexes of the same species. There are two sheets at U under the name Piper malamiri : Wallich Num. list nos. 6642E (U 1476730-a male plant) and 6642 I (U1476731a female plant), collected from Travancore. However, none of the materials at neither K nor those in U have any annotation by Hooker. The male plant was not described by him though both the numbers were cited. The female plants match his description. The male plant is shown and described by R. Wight in his Icon (1843: 4. pl. 1941). They are similar to those in Wallich Num. list no 6642 E. They are quite distinct from the plant on Wallich Num. list no.6642 F or P. argyrophyllum var. argyrophyllum , thus justifying Hooker’s action to identify the two differently. This taxon is recognized here as a species with a new name Piper travancorianum P. K. Mukh. nom. nov. The lectotype designated here is Wallich Num. list no. 6642 I, deposited at K (K001124383) collected from Travancore as it is in better state of preservation. The specific epithet is coined after the locality of the type specimen.