Ficus dalhousiae

Mahima, Karthikeyan, Sudhakar, Jana Venkata & Ramalingam, Sathishkumar, 2020, Taxonomic delimitation of endemic Ficus amplocarpa and Ficus dalhousiae Complexes (Moraceae) by DNA barcoding, Phytotaxa 436 (1), pp. 21-35 : 22

Ficus dalhousiae complex

Ficus dalhousiae and Ficus anamalayana are endemic to Western and Eastern Ghats of Southern India (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu) belonging to subgenus Urostigma and Pharmacosycea . Sudhakar & Murthy (2015) collected and studied the endemic Ficus species from Anamalai hills of Western Ghats and published as a new species, F. anamalayana . While scrutinising the same specimens of different herbaria, it was found that Tamil Nadu region specimens were misidentified by Mathew (1981) as F. dalhousiae and Rani, (1985) as F. albipila (Miq.) King also few other specimens stored at Madras Herbarium (MH), which were collected from Kerala (Ernakulam and Idukki Districts) belonged to F. anamalayana . Further, this new species was also confused with F. dalhousiae subgenus Urtostigma due to its morphological resemblance. It can be differentiated by the presence of two waxy glands at axils of basal lateral nerves, chiefly oblong receptacles, slender peduncles, united tepals of male flowers, greenish to pale young foliage and absence of aerial roots. In F. dalhousiae only one waxy gland at axils of basal lateral nerves, receptacles globose to subglobose, stout peduncles, tepals of male flowers frees, young foliage dark red to pink beneath and absence of aerial roots were reported ( Sudhakar & Murthy, 2015). The detailed morphological differences between F. anamalayana and F. dalhousiae described in Table 1.