Iphigenia magnifica Ansari & R.S. Rao (Colchicaceae) – A new distributional record to the flora of Eastern Ghats, India

Iphigenia magnifica Ansari & R.S. Rao (Liliales: Colchicaceae), an endemic species of Western Ghats is reported in this communication as a new distributional record for Eastern Ghats from Seshachalam hills of Eastern Ghats, Andhra Pradesh. The present communication provides description of this species along with photographs of habitat, live plant and herbarium specimen, comparison with its allied species, ecology and conservation assessment.


Introduction
Colchicaceae (Liliales) (1) are an average-sized family having about 250 species in 19 genera, and widely distributed in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America (2). Colchicaceae members are characterized by perennial herbs with underground corm or rhizome, erect stem, simple or sometimes branched or reduced to short underground portion, leaves cauline, alternate to subopposite, sessile having sheath or short petiole, flowers sessile to pedicellate, hypogynous, bisexual or unisexual, tepals usually 6, stamens 6, gynoecium tricarpellary sometimes with 2 to 4 carpels and fruits septicidal or loculicidal capsule (3,4).
Iphigenia Kunth (Colchicaceae) comprising c. 12 species, is distributed from tropical and subtropical Old World to northern Australia (2 (5,6). Iphigenia is characterized by having erect grass-like herbs with fibrous roots or underground fleshy corm or rhizome covered with a tunic, leaves sessile, cauline or basal, five to many, alternate, sheathing, slender, lanceolate to linear-conduplicate, flowers solitary, axillary or terminal, drooping, with leaf-like bracts, perianth lobes free, dark brown to pinkish white, spreading or reflexed, stamens 6 with either hairy or glabrous filaments, anthers with monosulcate pollen grains, stigma unifid to trifid and subglobose capsular fruits.
During the botanical explorations in various parts of Seshachalam hills, a part of Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh few Iphigenia individuals were collected, which were growing in sandy gravel mixed soil and near rocky crevices in gentle sloping areas of Tirumala (Japalihanuman tirtham) and Talakona forest patches. Specimens were carefully collected along with tunicate corm and properly processed. After a critical examination of morphological features of collected plant specimens along with scrutiny of pertinent literature and matching with herbarium specimens housed at different herbaria (MH, CAL and herbarium at Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati) the specimens were identified as Iphigenia magnifica Ansari & R.S. Rao, a species considered to be an endemic to the Western Ghats of Goa (7), Karnataka (8,9) and Maharashtra (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17).

Habitat and Ecology
This species found copiously in shaded and open canopy grasslands with gravel, well-drained shallow sandy soil and near water bodies on gentle slopes of rock crevices at Talakona and 'Japalihanuman tirtham' in Tirumala, which are a part of Seshachalam hill ranges in Andhra Pradesh, at elevations ranging from 720 to 910 m. Population is scarce. It is found growing in association with Cymbopogon spp., Chrysopogon spp., Byttneria herbacea Roxb. and Cyperus spp.

Conservation Assessment
Previous workers (5)(6)(7)21) reported I. magnifica as an endemic and vulnerable species confined to the northern Western Ghats. During the explorations in Seshachalam hills it is observed that the subpopulation of this species growing in grassland microhabitats, near rocky patches, is in stable condition. The Extent of Occurrence (EOO) and Area of Occupancy (AOO) of this species in Seshachalam hills were calculated using GeoCAT (Geospatial Conservation Assessment Tool): EOO: 8.240 km 2 and AOO: 9.795 km 2 . However, as a thorough exploration is essential to assess the exact native range of distribution, population size and number of matured individuals of this species in the entire Eastern Ghats hill ranges, the status of this species is provisionally assessed here as Data Deficient following IUCN Categories and Criteria Version 3.1 (22). It is suggested to conserve and protect the ecologically sensitive areas in Seshachalam hills, where such habitatspecific species inhabit. It is also important to conserve this small population of this species in the region as such ecologically sensitive species exhibit narrow seasonality and highly restricted distribution ranges.