Wednesday, April 19, 2017

[Botany • 2017] Emilia reddyi • A New Species of Emilia Cass. (Asteraceae) from the Eastern Ghats of India with Notes on Ecosystem Evaluation and Conservation Status


Emilia reddyi  Satish & Prakasarao 


Abstract
Emilia reddyi is described and illustrated as a new species from the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India. It resembles Emilia scabraEmilia javanica, and Emilia sonchifolia, but is distinct by the stem which is woody at the base, the strictly cauline leaves, and floral characters. A description, information on habitat, distribution, and phenology, and relevant taxonomic notes are provided. The landscape in which E. reddyi occurs was evaluated for the rate of deforestation and land cover changes to understand the anthropogenic impacts on ecosystem of the described species. Based on these data, the conservation status of the species was assessed.

Keywords: Asteraceae; Conservation; Eastern Ghats; Emilia reddyi

Figure 3.  Emilia reddyi sp. nov.
A, Habit; B, Twig showing robustness, woodiness at the base and strict cauline leaves; C, Flowering twig; D, Leaf variation in size and shape; E, Lowersurface of the leaf showing recurved margin with pigmentation; F, Tender twig with wavy hairs on both stem and leaves.  

Etymology: The specific epithet of species was given in honor of Dr. C. Sudhakar Reddy, Scientist, National Remote Sensing Centre,Indian Space Research Organisation, Hyderabad, India for his sig-nificant contributions in plant taxonomy and biodiversity of India. 



Koppineedi Veera Satish and Jonnakuti Prakasa Rao. 2017. A New Species of Emilia Cass. (Asteraceae) from the Eastern Ghats of India with Notes on Ecosystem Evaluation and Conservation Status. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity. 10(1); 104–111.  DOI: 10.1016/j.japb.2016.10.003