A new species of Hubera (Annonaceae) from Peninsular India Author Muralidharan, Ramachandran Department of Botany, Kanchi Mamunivar Centre for Post Graduate Studies, Pondicherry - 605 008, India text Phytotaxa 2015 2015-05-05 205 1 129 134 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.207.1.8 journal article 10.11646/phytotaxa.207.1.8 1179-3163 13637819 Hubera senjiana R.Muralidharan, Naras. & N.Balach. , sp. nov. ( Figs. 1a–h , 2a–b ) Type : — INDIA . Tamil Nadu : Gingee , Villupuram District , Devathanampettai , Pakkamalai Reserve Forest , 12° 10.146’ N , 79° 19.280’ E , 250 m , 17 August 2008 , Muralidharan & Narasimhan 7210 A , ( holotype MH !; isotypes ,7210 B-C , CAL !) . FIGURE 1. Hubera senjiana . a . Flowering twig. b . Front view of the flower. c . Back view of the flower. d . Sepal. e . Petal, inside view. f . Petal, outside view. g . Mature flower, entire thalamus with stamens and carpels. h . Fruiting branch. Diagnosis: The new species differs from Hubera jenkinsii (Hook.f.& Thomson) Chaowasku in having usually smaller leaves and shorter petioles, more fruitlets (35–40) and a shorter and slenderer stipe ( Table 1 ). FIGURE 2. a. Hubera senjiana , flower. b. Hubera senjiana , fruitlets. Trees, ca. 5 m high, bark develops even on young branchlets, blackish–grey, apical bud covered by rusty brown tomentum. Leaves elliptic–oblong, 6.5–13.5 × 2.0–4.0 cm, oblique or rounded at base, undulate, acute to acuminate at apex; shiny above; midrib raised below, grooved above; pubescent on margins of midrib on the lower side of leaf; lateral veins ca. 5 pairs; domatia absent; petiole ca. 5 mm long; pubescent. Cymes axillary, 1–2–flowered, inflorescences on young and old, leafless branches, pendulous; flowers ca. 3.5 cm across, pale yellowish green in vivo; pedicel slender, ca. 7 mm long; puberulous. Peduncle bract 1, ovate, ca. 1 mm long; rusty pubescent on the outer side. Sepals 3, ovate to sub orbicular, ca. 3–4 mm long and recurved at margin, rounded at apex, hirsute outside, glabrous inside. Petals 6; outer 3, elliptic-obovate, 1.5–2.0 × 0.7–1.0 cm, entire at margin, acute–obtuse at apex, puberulous on the outer side; inner 3, elliptic–oblong, 1.4–2.2 × 0.5–1.0 cm, entire at margin, obtuse at apex, yellow tinged at base in vivo; puberulous on the outer side; faintly nerved in the middle. Stamens many, pale yellow in vivo; filaments ca. 1 mm long; hirsute; connectives polygonal, flat at top, ca. 1 mm across; anthers oblong, ca. 1.2 × 1.0 mm. Carpels ca. 50, oblong, each ca. 2 × 1 mm long, hirsute on ovary; ovule 1, basal, style indistinct; stigma capitate. Torus slightly raised, hairy. Fruitlets 20–30, densely packed, ellipsoid, 5 × 3 mm ; pointed at apex; glabrous; stipe slender, ca. 5 mm long; fruiting pedicel slender, ca. 1 cm long; fruitlets red in vivo when ripe; seed 1, 2 × 1 mm , ellipsoid, brown in vivo; endosperm ruminations spiniform. Flowering & Fruiting:— August–March Local Name:— Kothukala (Tamil) Etymology:— The species is named for the type locality, namely Senji (Gingee). Distribution and Ecology:— Endemic to Gingee hills, Villupuram District, Tamil Nadu , India . It is rare, growing in dry rocky soils along forest fringes associated with Phyllanthus polyphyllus , Stenosiphonium russellianum and Justicia beddomei , at an elevation of 200– 300 m . Other specimens examined:— INDIA . Tamil Nadu : Gingee, Villupuram District, Devathanampettai, Pakkamalai Reserve Forest, 12° 10.146’ N , 79° 19.280’ E , 250 m , 23 March 2012 , Muralidharan & Narasimhan 7674. Gingee, Villupuram District, Devathanampettai, Pakkamalai Reserve Forest, 12°10.146’ N , 79°19.280’ E , 250 m , 2 October 2013 , Balachandran 12801. Notes:— Hubera senjiana is morphologcally most similar to H. jenkinsii , a northeastern Indian species, than it is to H. cerasoides or H. korintii , which are widely distributed in southern India .