Microsoft Word - 14. S-1. Colubrina javanica_Revised_4.11.14-EE.doc Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 21(2): 199-202, 2014 (December) - Short communication © 2014 Bangladesh Association of Plant Taxonomists COLUBRINA JAVANICA MIQ. (RHAMNACEAE) – A NEW ANGIOSPERM RECORD FOR BANGLADESH MOHAMMAD SAYEDUR RAHMAN1, GAZI MOSHAROF HOSSAIN, SALEH AHAMMAD KHAN AND SARDER NASIR UDDIN2 Department of Botany, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka-1342, Bangladesh Keywords: Colubrina javanica; New record; Bangladesh. Colubrina Rich. ex Brongn. floristically is the least specialized members of the Rhamnaceae (Johnston, 1971) and consist of 23 species distributed in tropical areas of Africa, South Asia, Australia, Pacific Islands and South America (Yilin and Schirarend, 2007). Hooker (1875) recorded 3 species of this genus, viz. C. asiatica (L.) Brongn., C. pubescens Kurz, and C. travancorica, from Indian subcontinent. Roxburgh (1832) reported this genus as Ceanothus L., and described one species Ceanothus asiatica L. from Singapore. Prain (1903) reported the occurrence of C. asiatica in the Indian coast without specifying any particular area and suggested for searching this species in the Sundarbans. Hooker (1875) and Johnston (1971) reported Colubrina javanica Miq., as a synonym of C. asiatica but recently Yilin and Schirarend (2007) separated that species from C. asiatica on the basis of differences in indumenta and length of fruiting pedicels. The genus Colubrina has never been mentioned in any publication on the flora covering the present territory of Bangladesh (Heinig, 1925; Raizada, 1941; Khan and Banu, 1972; Chaffey et al., 1985; Alam, 1988; Karim, 1994; Mia and Khan, 1995; Siddiqi, 2001; Hossain, 2003; Rahman, 2004; Rashid et al., 2008; Hassan, 2009; Hossain, 2013). Recently, the first author, while inventorying the flora of Sundarbans under his Ph.D. project, collected few specimens of Colubrina from Katka area and after a critical taxonomic study the specimens have been identified as C. javanica Miq. Hence, the genus Colubrina and the species C. javanica are reported here as the new angiosperm records for Bangladesh. The specimens are deposited at Jahangirnagar University Herbarium (JUH) and Bangladesh National Herbarium (DACB). The detailed description and illustration of the species based on herbarium material are given below. Colubrina javanica Miq., Fl. Ned. Ind. 1(1): 648 (1856). Colubrina asiatica var. subpubescens (Pit.) M.C. Johnst., Brittonia 23: 48 (1971); C. pubescens Kurz, J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal 2: 301 (1872); C. pubescens var. subpubescens Pit., Fl. Indo-Chine 1(8): 931 (1912) (Fig. 1). An evergreen branched shrub. Stem 2.5-6.0 m tall, 10-12 cm in diameter, branches long, slender, slightly flexuose, youngest ones pubescent. Stipules minute, 0.7-0.8 mm long, lanceolate. Leaves alternate; petioles 7-15 mm long, sparsely pubescent; lamina 3.2-6.0 × 1.8-3.6 cm, ovate to broadly ovate, occasionally elliptic to oblong, thinly papery, abaxially glabrous, glabrascent or pubescent on veins, adaxially glabrous, secondary veins 2-4 pairs, base rounded and entire, margin serrulate to slightly undulate, apex acuminate or acute to truncate. Inflorescence axillary thyrse, 5-10 flowered, peduncles 1-2 mm long. Flowers bisexual, 5-merous. Pedicels 2.0-3.2 mm long. 1Corresponding author. Email: sayedur27bcs@gmail.com 2Bangladesh National Herbarium, Chiriakhana Road, Mirpur-1, Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh 200 RAHMAN et al. Fig.1. Colubrina javanica Miq. (a) Habit: a part of flowering branch; (b) Inflorescence; (c) A calyx lobe; (d) A petal; (e) A cucullated petal partly covering a stamen; (f) A stamen; (g) A style with stigma; (h) T.S. of ovary; (i) Fruits. COLUBRINA JAVANICA MIQ. (RHAMNACEAE) 201 Calyx tube hemispherical, sepals 5, green, 1.0-1.1 mm long, 1.1-1.2 mm wide at the base, triangular, adaxially distinctly keeled. Petals 5, yellow to light green, 0.7-0.9 × 0.8-1.0 mm at maturity, as long as stamen at bud stage, obovate, cucullate, clawed. Stamens 5, 1.2-1.5 mm long, each surrounded by a petal; filament 0.9-1.2 mm long; anthers partly exserted in mature flower, 2- lobed, dorsifixed, 0.2 × 0.3 mm. Ovary sub-inferior, with broad rugose yellow rounded disc, immerged to calyx tube, 3-loculed, each locule with 1-ovule, placentation basal; style up to 1 mm long, attached with yellow rounded disc, distinctly 3-fid up to the middle; stigmas convex, scabrous. Fruits globose, 3-furrowed, 7-8 mm in diameter, basally surrounded by the remains of calyx tube, loculicidally dehiscent at maturity, locule 1-seeded. Seeds triangular, 4-5 × 5-6 mm, greyish brown; fruiting pedicels 6-10 mm long. Flowering and fruiting period: April - December. Ecology: Bushy area besides the coast. Specimen examined: Bagerhat: Sundarbans east forest division, Katka, near Forest Station, 21.12.2012, M.S. Rahman 1081 (JUH); 22.4.2014, G.M. Hossain 651 (JUH); 22.4.2014, M.S. Rahman 1512 (DACB). Distribution: China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. Uses: The crushed leaves of Colubrina possess lathering properties. In Samoan and Fijian Islands, the leaves are used as a detergent and shampoo. It is used to cure burns caused by centipede or millipedes. In the Bahamas, Colubrina is used as a digestive aid, anti scorbutic, tonic, laxative, and as a febrifuge. In the Philippines, extract of the leaves is used as a remedy for skin diseases. In Sri Lanka, a cottage industry has been developed based on Colubrina stem (McCormick, 2007). Acknowledgement The first author gratefully acknowledges the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for awarding the National Science and Technology (N.S.T.) fellowship. References Alam, M.K. 1988. Annotated checklist of the woody flora of Sylhet forests. Bulletin 5, Plant Taxonomy Series. Forest Research Institute, Chittagong, pp. 1-153. Chaffey, D.R., Miller, F.R. and Sandom, J.H. 1985. A forest inventory of the Sundarbans, Bangladesh. Main report, Overseas Development Administration, England, 196 pp. Heinig, R.L. 1925. List of plants of Chittagong Collectorate and Hill Tracts. The Bengal Government Branch Press, Darjeeling, India, pp. 1-84. Hooker, J.D. 1875. The Flora of British India. Vol. 1. L. Reeve and Co., London, pp. 642-643. Johnston, M.C. 1971. Revision of Colubrina (Rhamnaceae) Brittonia 23(1): 2-53. Hossain, A.B.M.E. 2003. The undergrowth species of Sundarban mangrove forest ecosystem (Bangladesh). 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Institute of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, University of Chittagong. 201 pp. Yilin, C. and Schirarend, C. 2007. Rhamnaceae In: Wu, C.Y., Raven, P.H. and Hong, D.Y. (Eds), Flora of China, Vol. 12. Science Press, Beijing and Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, pp, 115-168. (Manuscript received on 17 June 2014; revised on 4 November 2014)