Sorting Rungia species

[J.M. Garg]

Rakesh ji, in a recent thread, has expressed doubts about clarity in these species in efi site.

So let us look at these afresh with our literature. 
Flora of Madhya Pradesh: Chhatarpur and Damoh (Description) gives the following keys:

1a. Sterile and fertile bracts dissimilar. Upper lip of Corolla acute. Spikes 2 cm- R. pectinata

1b. Sterile and fertile bracts similar. Upper lip of Corolla emarginate. Spikes 2.5-5 cm- R. repens

Flora Of Guntur District: Andhra Pradesh, India (Description) gives the following keys:

1a. Bracts dimorphic. Fertile bracts villous, petiole ca. 2 cm long- R. pectinata

1b. Bracts uniform. Bracts with white membranous margin, petiole ca. 5 mm long- R. repens

Does anybody has keys involving Rungia parviflora ?
--

With regards,
J.M.Garg

'Creating awareness of Indian Flora & Fauna'

Winner of Wipro-NFS Sparrow Awards 2014 for efloraofindia. 

For identification, learning, discussion & documentation of Indian Flora, please visit/ join our Efloraofindia Google e-group (largest in the world- more than 3,000 members & 3,00,000 messages on 23.8.18) or Efloraofindia website (with a species database of more than 13,000 species & 3,00,000 images of which more than 2,00,000 images are directly displayed on 30.8.19).

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[dr.rakesh Singh]

We need to have descriptions of species . 

Garg  sir , the keys you have quoted are not enough . 

For one , leaf is highly variable in size , so is petiole . 

Two , bracts in all 3 are having papery white margin . While in bigger one margins do not overlap and they show prominently in contrasting colors , in two smaller ones bracts overlap and white papery margin is not visible on backside , though visible on side of flowers . 

Attached photos belong to larger one , spike going up to 20 cm long . Habit prostrate , erect when crowded . 

On Fri, Jan 3, 2020, 18:16 J.M. Garg <jmg...@gmail.com> wrote:

Rakesh ji, in a recent thread, has expressed doubts about clarity in these species in efi site.

So let us look at these afresh with our literature. 
Flora of Madhya Pradesh: Chhatarpur and Damoh (Description) gives the following keys:

1a. Sterile and fertile bracts dissimilar. Upper lip of Corolla acute. Spikes 2.5-5 cm- R. pectinata

[J.M. Garg]

Hi, Rakesh ji.

We will certainly go through the descriptions.

But before that we have to find keys between the three species., in differences sources of literature.

[J.M. Garg]

I check the related species in Flora of Peninsular India, but could not find the keys between the three species as per

Rungia pectinata

Rungia repens

Rungia parviflora

Rungia muralis

Only description is available for Rungia parviflora as below:

A small, soft annual herb. leaves membranous, variable, ovate, lanceolate or linear- spathulate. flowers in small spikes; barren and flowering bracts very different, the former in 3 rows on one side of the spike, thick, elliptic, mucronate; the later with the flowers on the other side, conspicuously hyaline- margined, ovate or orbicular- ciliate, calyx- lobes 5, corolla blue.  

[J.M. Garg]

Checklist of Nepal, gives Rungia parviflora (Retz.) Nees as a syn. of Rungia pectinata (L.) Nees

Flora of Pakistan did not mention any Rungia species.

Flora of China has only Rungia pectinata (Linnaeus) Nees out of these.

Pl. see FOC illustration for this.

As per Dr. Wood (who changed the names from Rungia to Justicia)"

Rungia muralis is usually seen as a variety of Justicia parviflora. I have made no combinations for the varieties as they are a chaos and need a thorough revision - most are probably of no value.

Thus, from the above discussions, there are broadly two complexes, one related to R. pectinata (syn: Rungia parviflora var. pectinata (L.) C. B. Cl.) and Rungia parviflora (Bracts dimorphic) and other related to R. repens (Bracts uniform).

Thus, Rakesh ji's posted species in this thread with uniform bracts should be R. repens

However, we have to still find keys and differences between R. pectinata (syn: Rungia parviflora var. pectinata (L.) C. B. Cl.) and Rungia parviflora (Bracts dimorphic)

[J.M. Garg]

Pl. read Spikes 2 cm in place of Spikes 2.5-5 cm for R. pectinata as per Flora of Madhya Pradesh: Chhatarpur and Damoh (Description)

On Fri, 3 Jan 2020 at 18:15, J.M. Garg <jmg...@gmail.com> wrote:

Rakesh ji, in a recent thread, has expressed doubts about clarity in these species in efi site.

So let us look at these afresh with our literature. 
Flora of Madhya Pradesh: Chhatarpur and Damoh (Description) gives the following keys:

1a. Sterile and fertile bracts dissimilar. Upper lip of Corolla acute. Spikes 2.5-5 cm- R. pectinata

1b. Sterile and fertile bracts similar. Upper lip of Corolla emarginate. Spikes 2.5-5 cm- R. repens

Flora Of Guntur District: Andhra Pradesh, India (Description) gives the following keys:

1a. Bracts dimorphic. Fertile bracts villous, petiole ca. 2 cm long- R. pectinata

1b. Bracts uniform. Bracts with white membranous margin, petiole ca. 5 mm long- R. repens

Does anybody has keys involving Rungia parviflora ?
--

With regards,
J.M.Garg

'Creating awareness of Indian Flora & Fauna'

Winner of Wipro-NFS Sparrow Awards 2014 for efloraofindia. 

For identification, learning, discussion & documentation of Indian Flora, please visit/ join our Efloraofindia Google e-group (largest in the world- more than 3,000 members & 3,00,000 messages on 23.8.18) or Efloraofindia website (with a species database of more than 13,000 species & 3,00,000 images of which more than 2,00,000 images are directly displayed on 30.8.19).

The whole world uses my Image Resource of more than a thousand species & eight thousand images of Birds, Butterflies, Plants etc. (arranged alphabetically & place-wise). You can also use them for free as per Creative Commons license attached with each image.

Also author of 'A Photoguide to the Birds of Kolkata & Common Birds of India'.

[J.M. Garg]

Description as available for Rungia parviflora is below:

A small, soft annual herb. leaves membranous, variable, ovate, lanceolate or linear- spathulate. flowers in small spikes; barren and flowering bracts very different, the former in 3 rows on one side of the spike, thick, elliptic, mucronate; the later with the flowers on the other side, conspicuously hyaline- margined, ovate or orbicular- ciliate, calyx- lobes 5, corolla blue.  

India biodiversity Portal gives the following description for Rungia parviflora:

Diffuse or ascending herbs. Leaves elliptic or elliptic-ovate, 2 by 1 cm, base and apex acute, lateral veins c. 3 pairs. Spikes c. 15 mm long; floral bracts glabrescent; corolla pinkish-white. Capsule ellipsoid.  Flowering and fruiting: March-April. Wastelands in the plains. Peninsular India and Sri Lanka

Rungia pectinata (Linnaeus) Nees in A. Candolle in Flora of China:

Herbs 20-50 cm tall, annual or perennial. Stem basally prostrate and rooting at nodes then erect, minutely pubescent. Petiole 0-7 mm; leaf blade oblong-elliptic, 1-4 × 0.4-1.4 cm, glabrous except for a few trichomes along veins, secondary veins ca. 4 on each side of midvein, base cuneate and decurrent onto petiole, margin entire, apex acute. Spikes axillary or terminal, 0.5-2 cm, 1-sided, solitary or sometimes 2 or 3 compound; bracts dimorphic; sterile bracts green, elliptic, ca. 4 × 0.7 mm, glabrous, apex acute; fertile bracts circular to obovate, 4-5 × ca. 2 mm, pubescent, margin broadly hyaline, apex obtuse to rounded to emarginate and mucronulate; bracteoles elliptic, 2-3 mm, margin ciliate, apex 2-cleft and subacute. Calyx colorless, pubescent; lobes linear-lanceolate, ca. 3 × 0.5 mm, margin narrowly hyaline, apex mucronulate. Corolla blue or white, ca. 5 mm, outside pubescent; lower lip 3-lobed, lobes triangular; upper lip ovate, 1-2 mm, apex emarginate. Staminal filaments glabrous. Ovary glabrous. Capsule ellipsoid, ca. 2.5 mm, glabrous, 2-4-seeded, apex apiculate. Seeds orbicular in outline, ca. 1 mm in diam., minutely verrucose. Fl. Nov-Jan, fr. Jan-Apr.

But I am unable to find out the clear cut difference between the two from the above.

[J.M. Garg]

The Plant List Ver. 1.1 and POWO, both treat Rungia parviflora (Nees) Ritz as a synonym of Rungia pectinata (L.) Nees, although Catalogue of Life treat them as differently as Justicia parviflora Retz (India (throughout), peninsular Malaysia (Kangar, Perlis), Sri Lanka, Oman (Dhofar), Myanmar [Burma] (Bago, Kayin, Magway, Mandalay, Yangon), Laos, Philippines (Luzon), Vietnam, Lakshadweep Isl. (Laccadives), Maldives) and Justicia pectinata L. (China (Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Yunnan), India (throughout), Bhutan, Darjeeling, Bengal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Andamans (South Andamans, Little Andaman Isl.), Nepal, Laos, Bangladesh).

Checklist of Nepal, gives Rungia parviflora (Retz.) Nees as a syn. of Rungia pectinata (L.) Nees

Flora of Pakistan did not mention any Rungia species.

Flora of China has only Rungia pectinata (Linnaeus) Nees out of these.

I do not find difference between the two in Flora of peninsular India at Rungia pectinata, Rungia repens, Rungia parviflora and Rungia muralis

In view of the above, my felling is to treat Rungia parviflora (Nees) Ritz as a synonym of Rungia pectinata (L.) Nees until we get some creditable key and differences between the two.

[dr.rakesh Singh]

I doubt the '3 rows' of sterile bracts . So far it is only 2 rows in all 3 types . 

I checked my collections from 2015 . 

Larger one is J. repens (Rungia repens ) , two smaller ones need to be sorted out . 

We agree on this . 

[Dinesh Valke]

Thank you Rakesh ji and Garg ji for this discussion.

I am not much confident to comment in this. Somehow I have always got confused when I see these plants with variations - especially when they interchange their habit - or may be I mistake them so. I am used to see Rungia pectinata as an erect herb with wiry stems / branches, typically 1.5 feet or so, and sometimes as tall as half a metre or so, growing in small colonies. I suspect having seen Rungia pectinata grow prostrate in open barren ground - though I could be mistaking the species.

Among the larger ones, I think there is one Rungia elegans too. I assume it is not included in this discussion, because it may not be posing any confusion.

Regards.

Dinesh

[dr.rakesh Singh]

Justicia concinna used to be Rungia elegans not so long ago . 

[J.M. Garg]

Thanks, Dinesh ji.

Rungia elegans was causing confusion with lot of them earlier identified as R. pectinata.

I am correcting them now one by one. Pl. check.

[Dinesh Valke]

Yes Garg ji, Rungia elegans flowers as well as bracts spike are quite stout - so it can only be mistaken by some, but certainly far from confusion.

Regards.

Dinesh

[J.M. Garg]

Thanks, Dinesh ji.

[J.M. Garg]

From another thread:

I think the habit of J. parviflora is prostrate, mat-forming, while J.pectinata is an erect herb with diffuse branching ... this is what I have been considering.

If their descriptions are on this lines, then confusion is taken care of.

Regards.

Dinesh

On Sat, 4 Jan 2020 at 13:05, J.M. Garg <jmg...@gmail.com> wrote:

[J.M. Garg]

Thanks, Dinesh ji, for the important feedback.

Pl. see the descriptions below:

Description as available for Rungia parviflora is below:

A small, soft annual herb. leaves membranous, variable, ovate, lanceolate or linear- spathulate. flowers in small spikes; barren and flowering bracts very different, the former in 3 rows on one side of the spike, thick, elliptic, mucronate; the later with the flowers on the other side, conspicuously hyaline- margined, ovate or orbicular- ciliate, calyx- lobes 5, corolla blue.  

India biodiversity Portal gives the following description for Rungia parviflora:

Diffuse or ascending herbs. Leaves elliptic or elliptic-ovate, 2 by 1 cm, base and apex acute, lateral veins c. 3 pairs. Spikes c. 15 mm long; floral bracts glabrescent; corolla pinkish-white. Capsule ellipsoid.  Flowering and fruiting: March-April. Wastelands in the plains. Peninsular India and Sri Lanka

Rungia pectinata (Linnaeus) Nees in A. Candolle in Flora of China:

Herbs 20-50 cm tall, annual or perennial. Stem basally prostrate and rooting at nodes then erect, minutely pubescent. Petiole 0-7 mm; leaf blade oblong-elliptic, 1-4 × 0.4-1.4 cm, glabrous except for a few trichomes along veins, secondary veins ca. 4 on each side of midvein, base cuneate and decurrent onto petiole, margin entire, apex acute. Spikes axillary or terminal, 0.5-2 cm, 1-sided, solitary or sometimes 2 or 3 compound; bracts dimorphic; sterile bracts green, elliptic, ca. 4 × 0.7 mm, glabrous, apex acute; fertile bracts circular to obovate, 4-5 × ca. 2 mm, pubescent, margin broadly hyaline, apex obtuse to rounded to emarginate and mucronulate; bracteoles elliptic, 2-3 mm, margin ciliate, apex 2-cleft and subacute. Calyx colorless, pubescent; lobes linear-lanceolate, ca. 3 × 0.5 mm, margin narrowly hyaline, apex mucronulate. Corolla blue or white, ca. 5 mm, outside pubescent; lower lip 3-lobed, lobes triangular; upper lip ovate, 1-2 mm, apex emarginate. Staminal filaments glabrous. Ovary glabrous. Capsule ellipsoid, ca. 2.5 mm, glabrous, 2-4-seeded, apex apiculate. Seeds orbicular in outline, ca. 1 mm in diam., minutely verrucose. Fl. Nov-Jan, fr. Jan-Apr.

Hi, Dinesh ji,

Does they match with your observations ?

[J.M. Garg]

I decided to pursue 1st four specimens each from GBIf fro both species.

But there seems to be no clear cut demarcation between them as below:

Rungia parviflora in GBIF:

https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/unsafe/http%3A%2F%2Fsweetgum.nybg.org%2Fimages3%2F3131%2F353%2F02655615.jpg

https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/unsafe/http%3A%2F%2Fcollections.nmnh.si.edu%2Fmedia%2Findex.php%3Firn%3D13018980

https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/unsafe/http%3A%2F%2Frepo.rbge.org.uk%2Fimage_server.php%3Fkind%3D1500%26path_base64%3DL2hlcmJhcml1bV9zcGVjaW1lbl9zY2Fucy9FMDAvNTQwLzIwMS83Mjc4NTUuanBn

https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/unsafe/https%3A%2F%2Fmedialib.naturalis.nl%2Ffile%2Fid%2FL.2843456%2Fformat%2Flarge

Rungia pectinata (Linnaeus) Nees in GBIF

https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/unsafe/https%3A%2F%2Fmedialib.naturalis.nl%2Ffile%2Fid%2FL.3704596%2Fformat%2Flarge

https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/unsafe/https%3A%2F%2Fmedialib.naturalis.nl%2Ffile%2Fid%2FL.3725672%2Fformat%2Flarge

https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/unsafe/https%3A%2F%2Fmedialib.naturalis.nl%2Ffile%2Fid%2FL.3725649%2Fformat%2Flarge

https://api.gbif.org/v1/image/unsafe/https%3A%2F%2Fmedialib.naturalis.nl%2Ffile%2Fid%2FL.3725649%2Fformat%2Flarge

[Dinesh Valke]

Rungia pectinata (Linnaeus) Nees in A. Candolle in Flora of China:

Herbs 20-50 cm tall, annual or perennial. Stem basally prostrate and rooting at nodes then erect,...

This part of description fits what I recognize as Rungia pectinata. I am not seeing the other fine description.

Description as available for Rungia parviflora is below:

A small, soft annual herb. ...

India biodiversity Portal gives the following description for Rungia parviflora:

Diffuse or ascending herbs. ... Wastelands in the plains

These parts of descriptions fits what I see as Rungia parviflora ... other fine points I am not able to discern in that small plant and further tinier and slender inflorescences.

Diffuse or ascending herbs.  ascending = at the most may be 5 cms or so.

I hope field experts put their thoughts here and correct me if I am wrong.

Regards.

Dinesh

[J.M. Garg]

I finally got the details in Flora of British India. Pl. check. 

Top portion of it, I am copying and pasting from IBIS Flora as below:

Nees in Wall. Pl. As. Rar. iii. 110, and in DC. Prodr. xi. 469, excl. syn. ; leaves small ovate or lanceolate nearly glabrous, bracts dimorphic barren elliptic or oblong subobtuse striate hardly margined, fertile obovate glabrous scarious-margined ciliate, bracteoles elliptic scarcely acute, corolla 1/4 in. R. repens, T. Anders, in Journ. Linn. Soc. ix. 518 partly, not of Nees. R. longifolia, Bedd. Ic. Pl. Ind. Or. t. 266, not of Nees.

S. DECCAN PENINSULA ; Weight (2011, 2285 Herb. Propr.). CEYLON ; Thwaites (C. P., nn. 257, 3354).

A small, ramous weed. Lower leaves 1 by 1/4-1/2 in., petioled, ovate, upper narrow sometimes linear. Spikes 3/4 by 1/4 in., nearly all terminal, markedly 1-sided ; barren bracts not cuspidate. Capsule 1/5 in. ; seeds small, minutely verrucose.—This, the typical R. parviflora, Nees, appears a very rare plant ; Nees, however, referred numerous specimens with the fertile bracts hairy all over to R. parviflora, but which are R. pectinata, Nees, as far as the description goes.

Lower portion of it, I am copying and pasting from IBIS Flora as below:

Revision of Rungia parviflora var. pectinata (Nees) C.B.Clarke from Fri, 2014-03-07 13:48     

flowerless bracts mucronate often cuspidate flowering hairy. R. pectinata, Nees in DC. Prodr. xi. 470 ; Wight Ic. t. 1547 ; T. Anders, in Journ. Linn. Soc. ix. 517. R. parviflora, Nees l. c. partly ; Griff. Notul, iv. 144 ; Dalz. & Gibs. Bomb. Fl. 195. R. polygonoides, Nees in Wall. Pl. As. Rar. Hi. 110, and Cat. 7181, and in DC. Prodr. xi. 471 ; Dalz. & Gibs. Bomb. Fl. 196. Justicia pectinata, Linn. Amoen. Acad. iv. 299 ; Lamk. Ill. i. t. 12, fig. 3 ; Roxb. Corom. Pl. ii. 29, t. 153, and Fl. Ind. i. 133 ; Wall. Cat. 2458. J. parviflora, Retz Obs. v. 9. J. infracta, Vahl Enum. i. 155.—Throughout India, from the Himalaya to Ceylon and Pegu, a universal weed.—Usually ramous. Leaves 3/4 by 1/3 in. ; petiole 1/8 in. Spikes 1 by 1/4 in., terminal and axillary, clustered, subsessile, distinctly 1-sided ; barren bracts 1/6 by 1/12 in., scarcely margined ; fertile 1/10 in. diam., orbicular, apiculate, scarious- marginate, hairy on back as well as on margins ; bracteoles 1/10 in., elliptic, subacute. Calyx 1/12 in. ; segments linear-lanceolate, pubescent. Corolla blue or whiteish, upper lip short. Anther-cells superposed, lower white-tailed.—The area of this abundant plant should perhaps be extended to Java, &c., but the examples thence (Dicliptera coerulea, Blume Bijd. 791) differ considerably from all the Indian material, which is very uniform in character, the size of the heads and bracts varying a little.

 Thus from above flowerless bracts mucronate often cuspidate flowering hairy for R.pectinata and flowerless bracts subobtuse for R. parviflora being the key.

[Dinesh Valke]

Thanks Garg ji.

Frankly, I will not be able to to discern the nature of the tiny bracts.

I will keep posting pictures of these plants with their IDs as I see, and hope that they turn out alright.

Regards.

Dinesh

[J.M. Garg]

Hi, Dinesh ji,

This is very easy to decipher in all our posted images.

For meaning pl. see:

http://lifeofplant.blogspot.com/2011/03/leaf-margins-tips-and-bases.html

https://www.cactus-art.biz/note-book/Dictionary/Dictionary_S/dictionary_subobtuse.htm

I found flowerless bracts are mucronate or cuspidate in most of our posts and not subobtuse. Thus, most of our postings are of R. pecinata, including those shown at Justicia parviflora ?

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[Dinesh Valke]

Thanks Garg ji.

Regards.

Dinesh

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[J.M. Garg]

Flora of British India also mentions two other varieties as below:

Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C.B.Clarke       

Spikes very dense, barren bracts ovate acute hardly longer than the fertile. R. muralis, Nees in DC. Prodr. xi. 470.

S. Deccan Peninsula ; Hohenacker, n. 18, &c. Chittagong ; J. D. H., &c. Distrib. Ava.

Spikes sometimes 1.3/4 by 1/6 in., densely strobiliform.

Rungia parviflora var. origanoides (Nees) C.B.Clarke       

Leaves narrowly lanceolate, spikes dense narrow, barren bracts orbicular scarious-margined very hairy on the back nearly as the fertile. R. origanoides, Nees in Wall. Pl. As. Rar. iii. 110, and Cat. 7182, and in DC. Prodr. xi. 471.

Pegu ; Wallich.

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[J.M. Garg]

Thus the Image 3 by Rakesh ji and images which I have named earlier as R. elegans, but reverted back as R.pectinata (based on Dinesh ji's observation), may be Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C.B.Clarke  

[dr.rakesh Singh]

Maza aa gaya aaj to !!! 

What I could extract from the page 

https://flora.indianbiodiversity.org/bhl_viewer/389080 

(same page Garg sir has copy pasted )  

is 

Rungia parviflora has usually only terminal spikes , sterile bracts not acute (sharp , pointy ) tipped , fertile bracts glabrous .

Rungia pectinata has axillary multiple spikes , sterile bracts with pointed , acute tip , fertile bracts hairy all over . 

I reviewed re-examined my photographs from yesterday . I can say that my Image 2 and 3 are variations of same species ... Justicia (Rungia) pectinata , 

in having axillary spikes as a rule , sterile bracts pointed tipped , fertile bracts hairy all over . 

I wish to photograph it from a second spot and then present them properly . 

.....................................

A line in page from Flora of British India says ... '' This, the typical R. parviflora, Nees, appears a very rare plant ''

I agree whole heartedly . I am seeing this plant since 2014 , on FOI , IF and 2015 on EFI , since 2016 in field . Never was I satisfied !!! 

I even asked during conversations on facebook (IF ) whether anyone had true Rungia parviflora images to share ... never got any !! 

Now I seem to have found the key !!! 

Garg Sir ! I can't thank you enough !!! 

[J.M. Garg]

Thanks, Rakesh ji,

We as a team (including Dinesh ji) are capable of solving many mysteries. Only constraint is a little bit of time.

Image 3 by you (Rakesh ji) may be Rungia parviflora var. muralis (Nees) C.B.Clarke with spikes very dense, barren bracts ovate acute hardly longer than the fertile, as per Flora of British India.