Dictyospermum ovalifolium

Dictyospermum ovalifolium Wight, Icon. Pl. Ind. Orient. 6: t. 2070 1853. (Syn: Aneilema hallbergii Blatt.; Aneilema ovalifolium (Wight) Hook.f. ex C.B.Clarke; Dictyospermum wightii Hassk.; Phaeneilema hallbergii (Blatt.) Raizada);

Images by Shivaprakash and Mayur Nandikar

 

Dictyospermum Wight
Thyrses mostly 5- 16 cm long …………………….Dictyospermum montanum Wight
Thyrses mostly 4- 6 cm long……………………….Dictyopsermum ovalifolium Wight   

 

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Commelinales and Zingiberales Week: Commelinaceae: Dictyospermum: Dictyospermum Wight, Icon. Pl. Ind. Orient. 6: 29. 1853.
Type : D. montanum Wight (Lectotype).
Greek dictyon “net” and sperma “seed”       
Herbs perennial. Rhizomes long. Stems erect or ascending. Leaves alternate, mostly aggregated at apex of stems. Cincinni long, with numerous flowers, forming terminal panicles; involucral bracts small. Flowers actinomorphic. Sepals free, boat-shaped. Petals free, white. Fertile stamens 3, equal, middle one inserted opposite petal; filaments glabrous, posterior; anther locules longitudinally dehiscent; staminodes 3; antherodes 2-lobed, horizontally divergent. Ovary 3-loculed; ovules 1 per locule. Capsule 3-valved, globose, trigonous. Seeds 1 per valve, oblong, reticulate or not; hilum linear, embryotega dorsal.

Four or five species in tropical Asia.
Here is presenting D. ovalifolium

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Requesting id of a plant 3 seen at Iruppu, Kodagu, Karnataka: Please find attached photos of a herb with flower and fruit, but not of good quality picture, requesting id.  This was seen at Iruppu, Kodagu, Karnataka on 30.07.2011 

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3-4 Plant was about a feet height amid strobilanthus ; all were at same height; besides a stream; i too searched in commelinanceae, but didn’t succeed. I remember them erect, straight from soil, not trailing.

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Let me try for this. I too have seen this plant at higher reaches of Brahmagiri hills that was also along the streams. But there were no flowers that time. 

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Dictyospermum ovalifolium<http://www.tropicos.org/NamePage.aspx?nameid=50282556>
 Wight <http://www.tropicos.org/NamePage.aspx?nameid=50282556> for sure…….
Distribution: southern peninsular India.

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Dictyospermum ovalifolium has a synonym, Aneilema ovalifolium and is endemic to the Western Ghats.

Few clarifications (please consider these clarifications for better understanding of the species).

Whether the fruits are dehiscent or indehiscent and blue at maturity?  whether the leaves (especially lower leaves) petioled or not? and the number of perfect stamens.

Please check and share these information, if possible.

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First up all I wish to clear genus Aneilema is truly African genus and not a single species of Aneilema is found in India. However, all the earlier Indian Aneilema species are synonymous under few genera like Murdannia, Dictyospermum, Pollia and Rhopalephora. 

All these above mentioned genera are differentiate on the basis of capsule and stamen character.
Stamens 6……….Tradescantieae (Cyanotis, Amischtolype, Callisia, Tradescantia, Belosynapsis, etc)
Stamens 2-3 ……………………………… Commelina, Murdannia, Pollia, Rhopalephora, Dictyospermum)

Stamens antesepalous…………………………Murdannia
Stamens all anterior……………………….
Fruits sticky with hook-hairs…………………..Rhopalephora
Fruit indehiscent, berry like…………………….Pollia
Fruit dehiscent ………………………………….Dictyospermum

Dictyospermum Wight
Thyrses mostly 5- 16 cm long …………………….Dictyospermum montanum Wight
Thyrses mostly 4- 6 cm long……………………….Dictyopsermum ovalifolium Wight

And I am sure (its my personal opinion) the above posted specimen is Dictyopsermum ovalifolium Wight

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Thank you very much for the wonderful and clear explanation on Dictyopsermum ovalifolium.

Do any one has the following publications, If someone has these papers would you please share the same with me.

The classification of Commelinaceae J. P. M. BRENAN

Article first published online: 28 JUNE 2008 in Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society (pages 349–370)

and

A revision of the genus Aneilema R. Brown (Commelinaceae) with a cytotaxonomic account of the West African species J. K. MORTON
Article first published online: 28 JUNE 2008 in Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society (pages 431–478)

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Valparai 080714 TBN 3 for id/? Commelinaceae/ TBN July 3 : 5 posts by 4 authors. Attachments (2).  

Please identify this plant details of which are as follows:

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Probably an Aneilema sp

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References: