Torenia godefroyi Bonati (1908: 514)

Pal, Aaratrik & Chowdhury, Monoranjan, 2022, Torenia hookeri, a new combination in Asian Linderniaceae and first record of T. godefroyi in the Himalayan hotspot, Phytotaxa 549 (2), pp. 230-234 : 232-233

Torenia godefroyi Bonati (1908: 514)

≡ Lindernia crustacea (Linnaeus 1867: 87) Mueller (1882: 97) var. godefroyi ( Bonati 1908: 514) Yamazaki (1981: 37) . ( Figs 2 & 3 )

Lectotype:— Cambodia. Compon Chuang, 1875, Godefroyi 186 ( P [ P00586632 !]) .

Torenia godefroyi var. filiformis Bonati (1908: 514) . Type:— Cambodia, sine loc., 1875, Godefroyi s.n. (P [P00586631!]).

Torenia lindernioides Saldanha (1966: 129) . Type:— India, Karnataka, Dandelli, N. Kanara, May 1919, Sedgwick 2511 (BLAT).

T. godefroyi ( Fig. 2 ) is very similar to T. crustacea Chamisso & Schlechtendal (1827: 570) . However, T. godefroyi can be easily differentiated from T. crustacea by its distinctly 5-winged calyx, enclosing the capsule completely ( Prasad et al., 2017). During this study, the species was recorded from four localities, covering a stretch of 120 km 2 area ( Fig. 3 ). Several healthy populations of T. godefroyi , even when T. crustacea started disappearing in early winter, were observed (except for some river beds, where both the species were present). We estimated the Extent of Occurrence of 3,907,923.579 km 2 using GeoCat ( Bachman et al. 2011) which is much greater than 20,000 km ² to be listed as any threatened category ( IUCN 2019). We also did not find any potential threat for the species as it shares different types of habitats. So, we preliminary assess the IUCN status of this species as Least Concern.

Distribution, habitat and ecology:— India (Western Ghats and West Bengal), Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. Recently recorded from different habitats: bare marshy lands, sandy river beds, shaded forest edges, etc.

Phenology:— Flowering and fruiting recorded from July to May.

Specimen examined:— INDIA. West Bengal: Darjeeling district, Siliguri, Raja Rammohunpur, 26°42′36.92″N, 88°21′13.92″E, 22 Jan 2021, LIND 20210122A (NBU); Darjeeling District (NBU).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Torenia godefroyi. A. habit; B. close-up of flowers. Prepared by A. Pal.

FIGURE 3. Distribution map of Torenia godefroyi in Asia. Prepared by A. Pal.