Sonerila lundinii, a new species of Melastomataceae from southern Western Ghats with notes on Sonerila pedunculosa, a less known taxon from Sri Lanka

Abstract

Sonerila lundinii Resmi & Nampy, a new species of Melastomataceae from the southern Western Ghats is here described. The new species is morphologically similar to Sonerila pedunculosa Thwaites by its prostrate or creeping habit, but differs by its pubescence, length of the peduncle, shape of the petals, anthers and capsules. Specimens so far collected from India wrongly identified as S. pedunculosa, which is an endemic species with a restricted distribution in Sri Lanka. Therefore, these specimens are considered as novelty and remarks on the occurrence of S. pedunculosa in South Indian Floras are clarified in the present paper.