trying to sort Limnophila

[surajit koley]

Sir,

I have copied the Limnophila entries from "Bengal Plants" (Bengal Plants. ii. 762 onward) and added possible relevant links found in eFlora & The Plant List sites.

• Leaves with nerves pinnate, arching from midrib; no whorls of pinnatifid or multifid leaves ---- Sec-I.
• Leaves with 3-5 nerves running from base to apex, or lower leaves whorled, pinnatifid or multifid; fruting calyx not striate ---- Sec-II.

Sec-I. Leaves with nerves pinnate, arching from midrib; no whorls of pinnatifid or multifid leaves 

A. Calyx-lobes not striate in fruit :-

    (i) leaves opposite, petioled, elliptic or ovate, obtuse or subacute, crenualte; nerves prominent; flowers sessile, axillary in peduncled heads, rarely solitary; calyx-lobes lanceolate, finely acuminate ....... roxburghii

    (ii) leaves 4-nately whorled, half-stem clasping, linear serrulate; nerves obscure; flowers very many. shortly pedicelled, small, in panicled, terminal corymbs; calyx-lobes subulate ....... polyantha

B. Calyx-lobes striate in fruit :-

    [1] leaves petioled, elliptic, ovate or oblong-lanceolate, subacute, all opposite; flowers sessile or, rarely pedicelled; calyx hirsute .......... diffusa

    [2] leaves sessile or rarely (in L. conferta sometimes) sub-petioled :-

        {a} flowers sessile; leaves all opposite; calyx glabrous or nearly so  :-

            (i) leaves oblong or elliptic-oblong, obtuse, crenate-serrate; erect or diffuse herb; flowers .25 in. long; calyx-lobes lanceolate-acuminate ................ conferta

            (ii) leaves linear, entire or sub-serrate, always sessile; small herbs; flowers .12 in. long; calyx-lobes subulate ...... micrantha

        {b} flowers pedicelled :-

            (i) leaves elliptic-oblong, subcrenate, obtuse, always opposite; flowers always axillary, solitary; calyx hirsute; lobes subulate; pedicels shorter than calyx ......................... pulcherrima

            (ii) leaves linear-oblong, serrulate, subacute, often 3-4-nately whorled; flowers in axillary or terminal, many flowered racemes at end of stems, rarely solitary; calyx-lobes lanceolate-acuminate; pedicel usually longer than calyx :-

                (iia) calyx glabrate; capsule oblong ........... gratissima

                (iib) calyx hirsute, rarely glabrous; capsule sub-orbicular ......... hirsuta

Sec-II. Leaves with 3-5 nerves running from base to apex, or lower leaves whorled, pinnatifid or multifid; fruiting calyx not striate

A. Flowers sessile or very shortly pedicelled :-

    (i) stem stout, hirsute; leaves all 3-6-nately whorled, sessile, the uppermost elliptic  or linear-oblong, 3-5 nerved, the lowermost pinnatifid; flowers crowded in erect close leafy spikes; calyx-lobes subulate ............ cana

    (ii) stem slender, usually hirsute, rarely glabrate; leaves usually all 3-6-nately whorled, lobulate or pinnate, very rarely the 2 uppermost opposite, entire; flowers all axillary, solitary; calyx-lobes ovate, long acuminate ...... sessiliflora

    (iii) stem slender, always glabrous;  leaves the 2 uppermost usually opposite, crenulate, the next below, 4-6-nately whorled, pinnate, the lowest submerged, multifid, with capillary segments; occasionally the uppermost flowers in a leafy spike; calyx-lobes ovate, shortly acuminate ......... heterophylla

B. Flowers pedicelled; pedicels as long as or longer than calyx; calyx-lobes ovate-acuminate :-

    (i) stems erect, stout, 1-2 feet high; flowers large, .5-.6 in long, usually an erect terminal racemes; upper leaves always sessile, ovate or linear-oblong, serrate, entire or 3-nate; lower multifid with capillary segments ......... racemosa

    (ii) stems, if erect, stout, only 4-8 in. high, often elongate, diffusely branching or suberect, slender; flowers .3 in. long, axillary, solitary, very rarely subracemose; upper leaves rarely entire and opposite, usually leaves all whorled, pinnatifid, or sometimes the upper pinnatifid, the lower multifid with capillary segments ........ gratioloides

• Limnophila roxburghii G.Don - an aromatic annual; Chota Nagpur, N. Bengal
• Limnophila polyantha Kurz - a graceful slender annual; N. Bengal, Duars
• Limnophila diffusa Benth. (not of G. Don) - an erect or procumbent weed of damp places; in all provinces
• Limnophila conferta Benth. - a very variable erect or procumbent weed of damp places; in all provinces
• Limnophila micrantha Benth. - a dwarf, stout, branching weed of marshy places; N. Bengal, Chittagong
• Limnophila pulcherrima Hook.f. - a small, erect weed of damp places; Tippera
• Limnophila gratissima Bl. - a stout erect weed of damp places, simple or only branching upwards; Chota Nagpur, N. Bengal
• Limnophila hirsuta Benth. - a stout, erect weed of damp places; N. Bengal, Chittagong, Chota Nagpur
• Limnophila cana Griff. - a herb of marshes with submerged , creeping stems, sending up erect, simple branches; E. Bengal
• Limnophila sessiliflora Bl. - a herb in swamps and rice-fields, submerged below; N. Bengal, E. Bengal
• Limnophila heterophylla Benth. - a weed of swamps and rice-fields, submerged below; in all provinces
• Limnophila racemosa Benth. - a weed of swamps and rice-fields, submerged below; N. Bengal, C. Bengal
• Limnophila gratioloides R. Br. - a weed of swamps and rice-fields and damp-spots, usually submerged below; in all provinces

Thank you,

Regards,

surajit