Portulaca badamica S. R. Yadav & Dalavi 2018

Portulaca badamica S.R.Yadav & Dalavi (2018: 376) (Fig. 1B and Fig. 2A–K). Type:— INDIA, Karnataka, Bagalkot District, Badami, 613 m a.s.l., 15.918394 N, 75.703487 E, 14 June 2018, Yadav, Dalavi & Deshmukh JVD-1250 (holotype CAL!, isotype BSI!, K!, SUK!) (Fig. 1). Description:— Annual, erect, slender, herbs, 5–15 cm in height. Root non-tuberous, branched, fibrous. Stems erect, slender, cylindrical, sparsely pilose when young, glabrous when mature. Leaves 0.8–1.5 × 0.1–0.3 cm, simple, alternate to whorled, linear, subsessile, glaucous, green with distinct midrib, petiole with a small tuft of white hairs in the nodal axils. Inflorescence terminal, 1–6 sessile flowered capitulum surrounded by 4–7 involucral leaves and a ring of white hairs. Flowers bisexual, 1 cm across, generally cleistogamous, rarely chasmogamous, sessile, yellow. Calyx bisepalous, sepals 4–6 × 2–3 mm, ovate, connate at base, transparent, 4–6-veined, glabrous. Petals 4–5, 5–6 × 2–3 mm, connate at the base, ovate to obovate, glabrous. Stamens 8–12, free, filaments connate at the base forming a small ring and adnate to petals, unequal in length; anthers 0.7–0.9 mm, dithecous, yellowish in colour, dehiscing via longitudinal slits; filaments 1.0– 2.5 mm long, glabrous. Gynoecium 4–5 carpellary, syncarpous; ovary 2–3 × 1–2 mm, globose, lower portion sunk into base of calyx tube, glabrous. Style 3–4 mm long, glabrous, 3–4 fid, pale yellow; stigma 1–2 mm, papillate, yellow. Fruits circumscissile capsule, 4–6 × 2–3 mm, sub-globose, basal disc, and upper operculum nearly equal in length. Seeds 40–60 per capsule, sub-reniform, 0.6–0.7 mm in diameter, bluish in colour with stellulate flat cells arranged in 3–4 circular rings without central elevations. Habitat:— The species grows in moist sandy plains. Phenology:— Flowering season: May to July; Fruiting season: May to August. Distribution:— The species is rarely and only known from the Bagalkot (Badami hills, Cholachgudda hills & Gudur) and Gadag (Gajendragada fort) districts of Karnataka state of India. Notes:— Undoubtedly, Portulaca badamica is unrelated to P. tuberosa however Singh & Arigela (2022) erroneously merged this species with P. tuberosa without visiting type location and proper studies. They also made the wrong interpretation as P. badamica is a variant of P. tuberosa. However, the species shows distinct differences in morphology (Fig 2 A–L), micromorphology (Dalavi et al. 2019), and molecular phylogeny (Tamboli et al. 2022). All the distinguishing characteristics of P. badamica and P. tuberosa are depicted in (Table 1).