Indigofera barberi Gamble (1918: 306

Chauhan, Vibha & Pandey, Arun K., 2015, A revision of trifoliolate Indigofera (Tribe Indigofereae: Fabaceae) in India, Phytotaxa 220 (1), pp. 1-29 : 10

1. Indigofera barberi Gamble (1918: 306 , 309). Fig. 3 .

Lectotype: — INDIA. Tamil Nadu: S. Arcot Dist., Melpat , 28 September 1899, C. A. Barber 1076 (lectotype K!, Isolectotype MH!).

Designated By:— Sanjappa , M. (1995) Revision of the genus Indigofera in India. In: Hazra, P.K., Sastry, A.R.K. & Sanjappa , M. (eds.) Fascicles of Flora of India 21: 26.

Synonym:— I. trifoliata Linn. subsp. trifoliata ; de Kort & Thijsse in Blumea 30: 137. 1984, p.p.

Vernacular name:— Sinnichedi (Tam.)

Erect herb or undershrub, 30–120 cm high; branches slender, angular, ascendingly appressed canascent. Leaves pinnately trifoliolate, 3–8 cm long including 1.5–2.5 cm long petiole; stipules 2–3 mm long, subulate, caducous; stipellae c. 1 mm long, setaceous; petiolules 1.5–2 mm long; leaflets 2–5.5 x 1–2.5 cm, obovate or elliptic to ellipticlanceolate, obtuse at base, obtuse to rounded and mucronate at apex, adpressed strigose on both surfaces, sparsely brown gland-dotted beneath. Racemes 5–7 mm long, axillary; rachis strigose, glandular, 10–15-flowered. Flowers solomon red, 3–3.5 mm long; bracts 2–2.5 mm, subulate, pubescent, caducous; pedicels ca 1 mm long, glandular. Calyx c. 2 mm long, strigose and gland-dotted outside, cup c. 0.5 mm long, teeth 1–1.5 mm long, triangular. Standard 2.5–3 x 1–1.5 mm, elliptic or ovate, obtuse to acute at apex, strigose and gland-dotted on the back; wing petals 2–2.5 mm long, glabrous, upper auricle prominent; keel petals 2.5–3 mm long, strigulose and gland-dotted outside towards apex, lateral spur ca 1 mm long, hyaline. Ovary c. 2 mm long, linear with a few hairs on dorsal side, 4–5-ovuled; style c. 1 mm long, sparsely covered with glands. Pods 10–20 x 3–4 mm, linear or slightly upcurved, moniliform, adpressed strigose, sparsely covered with glands, 2–4-seeded, Seeds 1–1.5 x 1 mm, subcylindric, brown, smooth.

Phenology:— Fls. September–October; Frts. October–December

Distribution:— INDIA: Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; endemic.

Habitat:— Open areas of deciduous forests along slopes of hills and in scrub jungles, on rocky soils at altitudes ranging from 300 to 700 m.

Specimen examined:— Andhra Pradesh: Kurnool Dist, Nallamalais, near Bairani falls-Diguvametta, 325 m, 10 November 1969, J. L. Ellis 32470 ( MH) ; Chittoor Dist., Talakona Forest , 9 November 1971, B. K. Vijay kumar 622 ( MH) ; Cuddapah , locality?, 19 October 1938, E. K. Krishnan s.n. ( DD) ; Anantapur Dist., Pedda mauthanada, 451m, 28 July 2007, Sardasivaiah & B. Ravi Prasad Rao 29587 ( SKU)

Chr. No.:— 2n = 16 ( Pritchard & Gould 1964, Sanjappa & Dasgupta 1983).

Note: De Kort and Thijsse (1984) have merged I. barberi Gamble under I. trifoliata L. subsp. trifoliata without assigning any reason. I. barberi differs from I. trifoliata in habit, leaves, flowers and pods. Therefore, it is treated as a separate species.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Indigofera barberi. A. Habit, B. Leaflet-adaxial surface, C. Leaflet-abaxial surface, D. Pod. (Based on: Bourne 869 K). Drawn by V. Chauhan.