317
A gos emma sawmlianae (Rubiaceae, A gos emma eae), a new
species om No heas India unde he Indo-Bu ma Ho spo
Ma ga e Lalhlupuii1, Lal Tlanhlui1, Sandhya ani De i Khomd am1, Sana ombi De i Yumkham2
1 Depa men o Bo any, Mizo am Uni e si y, Aizawl–796004, Mizo am, India
2 Depa men o Li e Sciences (Bo any), Manipu Uni e si y, Canchipu –795003, India
Co esponding au ho s: Sandhya ani De i Khomd am (sandhyakhomd [email p o ec ed]); Sana ombi De i Yumkham ([email p o ec ed])
Copy igh : © Ma ga e Lalhlupuii e al.
This is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde
e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion
License (A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional – CC BY 4.0).
Resea ch A icle
Abs ac
A gos emma sawmlianae (Rubiaceae), a new species om Mizo am, No heas
India, wi hin he Indo-Bu ma ho spo , is desc ibed and illus a ed. The species is
compa ed wi h i s allied species A. cou allense and A. sa men osum, om which i
di e s by a se o dis inc i e mo phological cha ac e s ha include a pai o la ge
sessile lea es (11.5–18.5 cm long), longe peduncle (4–6.5 cm long), mo e lowe s
pe cyme (8–33) and campanula e co olla wi h alca e lobes, e lexed and p omi-
nen ly olled backwa d. The molecula analyses based on ma K (cpDNA) and ITS2
(n DNA) sequences suppo he mo phological e idences con i ming A. sawmlianae
as a dis inc new species. The newly disco e ed species is p o isionally ca ego ized
as C i ically Endange ed (CR) in acco dance wi h he IUCN Red Lis Ca ego ies and
C i e ia (IUCN 2024) based on a ailable da a.
Key wo ds: A gos emma, Indo-Bu ma ho spo , Mizo am, molecula , mo phology, new
species
In oduc ion
A gos emma Wall. (Wallich 1824: 324) is a genus ha includes e es i-
al and occasionally li hophy ic o epiphy ic he baceous species. Mos o
he species a e ound widely dis ibu ed in opical and sub- opical Asia
wi h he excep ions o A gos emma a icanum K.Schum. (Schumann 1896:
423) and A. pumilum Benn. (Benne 1838: 95) which a e endemic o opical
A ica. Among he ou sub amilies o Rubioideae unde Rubiaceae, he ibe
A gos emma eae, ep esen s he la ges genus wi h 220 desc ibed species
(Ve dcou 1958; B eme 1989; S idi h 2007; B eme and Manen 2000). In
India, he dis ibu ion o he genus is p ima ily con ined o he No heas e n
s a es and he Wes e n Gha s which is e iden om he epo ed cases o
nine species so a , including he ecen addi ion o A gos emma qua an-
ena Balan & Robi (Balan e al. 2021: 48) and A. kamjongense Sadokpam,
S.D.Khomd am & S.D.Yumkham (Sadokpam e al. 2023: 78). I may be no ed
ha ou species namely A. e icilla um Wall. (Wallich 1824: 325), A. sa -
men osum Wall. (Wallich 1824: 324), A. agile E. T. Geddes (Geddes 1927:
Academic edi o : And e Simões
Recei ed:
19 June 2025
Accep ed:
13 No embe 2025
Published:
25 No embe 2025
Ci a ion: Lalhlupuii M, Tlanhlui L,
Khomd am SD, Yumkham SD (2025)
A gos emma sawmlianae (Rubiaceae,
A gos emma eae), a new species
om No heas India unde he Indo-
Bu ma Ho spo . Phy oKeys 266:
317–328. h ps://doi.o g/10.3897/
phy okeys.266.162537
Phy oKeys 266: 317–328 (2025)
DOI: 10.3897/phy okeys.266.162537
318
Phy oKeys 266: 317–328 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/phy okeys.266.162537
Ma ga e Lalhlupuii e al.: Disco e y o a new A gos emma species om No heas India
166), and A. khasianum C.B. Cla ke (Cla ke 1880: 43) ha e been epo ed so
a om he s a e o Mizo am. (Choudhu y 2002; Panday e al. 2020).
Du ing June 2022 o Oc obe 2024, bo anical ield explo a ions in Mizo am
led o he collec ion o an uniden i ied species o A gos emma om he
o es o Lungleng illage, si ua ed abou 20 km om Aizawl. Mizo am, one
o he No h-eas e n s a es o India, is si ua ed a he con luence o he Indo-
Malayan and Indo-Chinese biogeog aphic egions, which a e pa o he Indo-
Bu ma Biodi e si y Ho spo , enowned o i s ich lo al di e si y, including
nume ous endemic axa. Based on mo phological, palynological, molecula
in es iga ions, li e a u e su ey and he ba ium specimen consul a ion, he
Mizo am A gos emma plan was ound o be an undesc ibed species. Molecula
da abase o he newly desc ibed A gos emma species (ma K and ITS2) was
gene a ed and phylogene ic analysis con i med i s no el y as a new species,
and we he eby desc ibe i as A gos emma sawmlianae.
Ma e ials and me hods
Mo phological analyses
Specimens o an uniden i ied A gos emma we e collec ed du ing ex ensi e
ield su eys om Mizo am du ing 2022–2024. Measu emen s o all mo -
phological cha ac e is ics o he new species we e aken om esh sam-
ples collec ed om he ype locali y. Rele an li e a u e (such as Hooke
1880; Ridley 1923, 1927; B eme 1989; S idi h 1999, 2007; S idi h and Pu
2000; Choudhu y 2002; Chen e al. 2011; Panday e al. 2020) and A gos em-
ma ma e ials om se e al he ba ia (ARUN, ASSAM, CAL) we e consul ed.
Addi ionally, nume ous digi al specimens, including ype and gene al he -
ba ium specimens, we e examined om online esou ces such as he Na -
u al His o y Museum, London (BM; h ps://www.nhm.ac.uk) and he Royal
Bo anic Ga dens, Kew (K; h ps://da a.kew.o g) o con i m he no el y o
he species. High esolu ion specimen images we e also consul ed om
majo global da abases, including he Global Biodi e si y In o ma ion Fa-
cili y (h ps://www.gbi .o g), JSTOR Global Plan s (h p://plan s.js o .o g),
Missou i Bo anical Ga den-TROPICOS (h ps:// opicos.o g), Plan s o he
Wo ld Online (h ps://powo.science.kew.o g).
Te minology used in desc ibing he new species ollows Been je (2016).
The conse a ion s a us was assessed as pe IUCN Red Lis Ca ego ies
and C i e ia (IUCN 2024). Pho og aphs we e aken by using DSC–W610
digi al came a (Sony, Tokyo, Japan) and BT-E Bench op biological digi al
mic oscope (Cilika, Thane, India). The palynological s udies we e done us-
ing esh pollens and he size was exp essed as Pola axis (P) × Equa o ial
axis (E) in mic ome e (µm) (Schlag-Edle and Kiehn 2001). Te minologies
gi en by Pun e al. (2007) and Halb i e e al. (2018) a e used o desc ib-
ing he pollen cha ac e s. Seeds and pollen g ains p epa ed o mic omo -
phological analysis we e dehyd a ed, subjec ed o c i ical poin d ying, and
moun ed on s ubs coa ed wi h gold using Fine Coa Ion Spu e JFC-1100.
The samples we e subsequen ly examined and mic opho og aphs we e ob-
ained using ield emission scanning elec on mic oscope (JEOL JSM-6360,
F eising, Ge many).
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Phy oKeys 266: 317–328 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/phy okeys.266.162537
Ma ga e Lalhlupuii e al.: Disco e y o a new A gos emma species om No heas India
Molecula analyses
Genomic DNA om he esh sample o he newly desc ibed A gos emma
was ex ac ed using CTAB me hod (Doyle and Doyle 1987). PCR ampli ica ion
was done using ma K (cpDNA) p ime (F- CGTACAGTACTTTTGTGTTTAC-
GAG; R-ACCCAGTCCATCTGGAAATCTTGGTTC) and ITS2 (n DNA) p ime
(F- ATGCGATACTTGGTGTGAAT; R- GACGCTTCTCCAGACTACAAT). The PCR
p oduc was sequenced using Sange sequencing me hod. The de e mined
ma K and ITS2 sequences we e deposi ed in he GenBank (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
go /Genbank) o Na ional Cen e o Bio echnology In o ma ion (NCBI) wi h
accession No. OR555879 and PP067885 espec i ely. Sequences ob ained
o he submi ed axa and closely ela ed species we e aligned using he
Clus alW algo i hm implemen ed in MEGA X so wa e (Cheng e al. 2022).
A phylogene ic ee was cons uc ed in MEGA X using he Maximum Like-
lihood me hod wi h he Kimu a-2-Pa ame e model and a disc e e Gamma
dis ibu ion, suppo ed by 1000 boo s ap eplica es. The bes - i nucleo ide
subs i u ion model was selec ed based on he lowes BIC sco e. Twen y-nine
ma K sequences o hi een gene a and wen y- i e ITS2 sequences o wel e
gene a we e ob ained om GenBank and used in phylogene ic analyses, wi h
Cinchona o icinalis L. as ou g oup. The esul ing ee was analysed o de e -
mine he placemen o he sequences abou he known axa. The NCBI acces-
sion numbe s o he Rubiaceae membe s including he ou g oup used in his
s udy a e de ailed in Suppl. ma e ial 1: able S1.
Taxonomy
A gos emma sawmlianae Lalhlupuii, Tlanhlui, S.D.Khomd am &
S.D.Yumkham, sp. no .
u n:lsid:ipni.o g:names:77363110-1
Figs 1–3
Type. IndIa. • Mizo am, Aizawl dis ic , Lungleng illage, 23.66581, 92.66353,
1003 m al ., 05 July 2022, Lalhlupuii 128870 (holo ype: ASSAM!; iso ype: MZUH!,
MUMP!).
Diagnosis. I is simila o A gos emma cou allense A n. and A. sa men osum
Wall., bu di e s om he wo in ha ing one pai o la ge sessile lea es (11.5–
18.5 cm long), longe peduncle (4–6.5 cm long), mo e lowe s pe cyme (8–33),
and campanula e co olla wi h alca e pe als which a e e lexed and s ongly
olled backwa ds (Fig. 3, Table 1).
Desc ip ion. Epili hic, pe ennial he b, 7–17 cm all, a ached o subs a um
wi h dense, much-b anched, non- ube ous ma ed oo s. S em semi-e ec ,
e e e, unb anched, 1.5–7 cm long, g eenish whi e, pubescen . Lea es oppo-
si e, s ongly anisophyllous, pai ed, sessile, e icula e eucamp od omous, sec-
onda y eins 6, o a e, 11.5–18.5 × 10–13.3 cm, base co da e, ma gin en i e,
apex acu e, pubescen on bo h sides; small pai o udimen a y lea es, ses-
sile, b oadly o a e o ellip ic, 3–7 × 3–4 mm, g een, pubescen . S ipule ses-
sile, o a e, 5–7 × 3–4 mm, base co da e, apex acu e, g een, ma gin pubescen .
In lo escence umbelli o m, lowe s basipe al, single, a ely 2–4, 8–33 low-
e ed. B ac s oliaceous, 4–6, used, unequal size, who led, ellip ic o o a e,
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Ma ga e Lalhlupuii e al.: Disco e y o a new A gos emma species om No heas India
Figu e 1. A gos emma sawmlianae Lalhlupuii, Tlanhlui, S.D.Khomd am & S.D.Yumkham, sp. no . A, B. Habi ; C. Anisophyllous
lea es wi h in lo escence (in e ed iew); D. Lea wi h s ipule; E, F. Anisophyllous lea es; G. Flowe wi h b ac ; H. In lo es-
cence; I. Foliaceous b ac s; J. Rudimen a y lea es; K. Pe aloid calyx wi h g een ips; L. Co olla wi h g een blo ched ubes;
M. Co olla wi h e lexed and backwa dly olled lobes; N. Single alca e shaped co olla lobe; O. Co olla lobes; P. Single s a-
men wi h cu ed ilamen ; Q. And oecium wi h loosely a anged s amens. (pho os by Ma ga e Lalhlupuii & Lal Tlanhlui).
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Phy oKeys 266: 317–328 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/phy okeys.266.162537
Ma ga e Lalhlupuii e al.: Disco e y o a new A gos emma species om No heas India
Figu e 2. A gos emma sawmlianae Lalhlupuii, Tlanhlui, S.D.Khomd am & S.D.Yumkham, sp. no . A. Single lowe ; B. Pis il;
C. C oss sec ion o o a y; D. Seeds (LM image); E. Seed (SEM image); F. Pollen (SEM image); G. A. sawmlianae in ype
locali y; H, I. A. e icilla um om Manipu ; J. A. kamjongense om Manipu ; K. A. sa men osum om Meghalaya. (pho os
by Ma ga e Lalhlupuii, Lal Tlanhlui & Yumkham).
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Ma ga e Lalhlupuii e al.: Disco e y o a new A gos emma species om No heas India
Figu e 3. A. Holo ype o A gos emma sawmlianae Lalhlupuii, Tlanhlui, S.D.Khomd am & S.D.Yumkham, sp. no . (Lalhlupuii
128870, ASSAM!); B. He ba ium Specimen o A. cou allense [K000030994] ( ep oduced wi h pe mission om h p://speci-
mens.kew.o g/he ba ium/K000030994); C. He ba ium specimen o A. sa men osum [K000030998] ( ep oduced wi h pe mis-
sion om h p://specimens.kew.o g/he ba ium/K000030998); D. He ba ium specimen o A. sa men osum [MUMP001591]
323
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Ma ga e Lalhlupuii e al.: Disco e y o a new A gos emma species om No heas India
8–11 × 4–6 mm, g een, ma gin pubescen , who led, isomo phic wi h numbe o
in lo escences (1–4); peduncle 4–6.5 cm long, g eenish whi e, glab ous. Flow-
e s pedicella e, 4-me ous, ac inomo phic, 1.8–2.2 cm, pedicel 7–10 mm long,
whi e, pubescen . Calyx 4-lobed, lobes basally conna e, o a e, 6–10 × 4–5 mm,
pe aloid, whi e, calyx ee h ip g een, become comple ely g een a e an hesis,
glab ous. Co olla 4, whi e, alca e, 6–8 × 2–3 mm; ¾ lobes e lexed, ube g een
blo ched, 1–2 × 1–3 mm, u hai ed a ip o co olla lobe. S amens 4, equal,
an he s ee, loosely a anged, basi ixed, 6 mm long, yellow, exse ed om he
co olla ube, glab ous; ilamen s 2–3 mm, ee, S-like cu a u e, whi e.
S yle 1–1.2 cm long, whi e, glab ous; s igma club shaped, yellow; o a y
in e io , bilocula , axile placen a ion, hai y; o ule nume ous, yellow. Seeds
nume ous, minu e, iangula , 600 × 300 μm, black, es a e icula e, cen al
mamilla in each ca i y (Fig. 2D, E).
Pollen g ains. Monad, he e opola , e y small 8–9 × 8–9 µm, iangula amb,
isodiame ic (P/E a io 1), i adia e colpi (d y) (Fig. 2F).
Phenology. Flowe ing om June–July and ui ing om July–Augus .
Dis ibu ion and ecology. The plan was ound g owing on a damp ock-
wall along a s eam wi h mosses, p e idophy es (Selaginella sp., Asplenium
sp.) and Begonia spp. (Begoniaceae). The plan was collec ed om Lungleng
illage in Aizawl Dis ic o Mizo am, India which is loca ed a 23°39'57"N,
92°39'41"E, sou h o Aizawl ci y. Posi ioned a an ele a ion o 1011 m abo e
sea le el, Lungleng ecei es an a e age annual ain all o abou 2500 mm,
wi h empe a u e anging om 26 °C–31 °C. The se lemen lies a op a hill
and is enci cled by a na ow bel o dense communi y ese e o es com-
p ising sub opical b oad-lea ed e e g een mixed o es and wi h pa ches
o seconda y o es su ounding he ese ed a ea.
Conse a ion s a us. The newly desc ibed species was ound g owing as
a li hophy e a i s ype locali y only, ep esen ed by a single popula ion o 39
ma u e indi iduals which a e less han 50. The habi a which is si ua ed along
a oadside aces signi ican h ea s om equen landslides and ongoing
Table 1. Compa ison o A gos emma sawmlianae, A. cou allense and A. sa men osum.
Cha ac e s A. sawmlianae A. cou allense A. sa men osum
Rhizomes Non- ube ous Tube ous Tube ous
S em size 1.5–7 cm 8–20 cm 10–20 cm
Lea es 1-pai , anisophyllous, b oadly o a e
o ellip ic, 11.5–18.5 cm long
2-pai s, isophyllous, ellip ic o a e,
7 cm long
2-pai s, anisophyllous, ellip ic o a e,
2–10 cm long
S ipule O a e, 5–7 × 3–4 mm O a e, 7–8 × 1–2 mm B oadly o a e o ellip ic, 1.5–2 × 2 mm
Pe iole Sessile 0–2 cm 0.2–0.3 cm
Numbe o lowe s
pe cyme
8–33 lowe ed 3 o many lowe ed 6–10 lowe ed
B ac 4–6, basally conna e F ee 2–3, ee
Peduncle 4–6.5 cm 3–6 cm 3–6 cm
Calyx Lobes 4, 6–10 × 4–5 mm, sequen ial
colou changes om whi e o g een
Lobes 4, 3 × 2 mm, sequen ial co-
lou changes om whi e o g een
Lobes 5, 9–10 × 4–5 mm long, pe -
sis en g een
Co olla Campanula e, lobes alca e, 7–10
× 3–6 mm, e lexed and s ongly
olled backwa ds
S a shaped, lobes o a e, 7–8 ×
2–2.5 mm, no e lexed
S a shaped, lobes na owly iangu-
la , 7–8 × 2.5–3 mm, a ely e lexed
S amen Filamen 2–3 mm, an he 6 mm Flamen 3 mm, an he 3 mm Filamen 2.5–2.8 mm, an he 6 mm
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Ma ga e Lalhlupuii e al.: Disco e y o a new A gos emma species om No heas India
de elopmen al ac i i ies such as oad cons uc ion and expansion. The es i-
ma ed a ea o occupancy (AOO) is less han 10 km2. Based on cu en ield
obse a ions, he species is p o isionally assessed as C i ically Endange ed
[CR B2 ab (ii, iii, ) c (ii, iii, i ) D] acco ding o he IUCN Red Lis Ca ego ies and
C i e ia (IUCN 2024). Fu he esea ch is necessa y o ho ough and long- e m
popula ion assessmen o yield a mo e p ecise conse a ion e alua ion.
E ymology. The speci ic epi he sawmlianae is o honou Mal Sawmliana, a
o es conse a o and na u alis , as a ecogni ion o his e o s and con ibu-
ion in explo ing he lo a and auna o conse a ion measu es in Mizo am.
Sugges ed common name. Sawmliana pa (Mizo)
Molecula s udies o A gos emma sawmlianae
A e analysis o he ma K and ITS2 sequences om A gos emma sawmlianae,
i was obse ed ha he consensus leng h o he ma K sequence is 766 bp wi h
29.51% G:C con en and ha o ITS2 is 438 bp wi h 52.69% G:C con en . A Max-
imum Likelihood (ML) ee was cons uc ed using ma K and ITS2 sequences
in MEGA X (Molecula E olu iona y Gene ics Analysis, X) o analyze he place-
men o A. sawmlianae among di e en membe s o Rubiaceae wi h Cinchona
o icinalis as an ou g oup species (Figs 4, 5).
Figu e 4. Phylogene ic ee o A gos emma sawmlianae econs uc ed based on Maximum Likelihood (ML) as a
cladis ic me hod comp ising 31 ma K nucleo ide sequences using MEGA X. Red solid ci cle indica es he placemen o
A. sawmlianae among A. hooke i, A. yappi and A gos emma sp. in he phylogene ic ee.
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Ma ga e Lalhlupuii e al.: Disco e y o a new A gos emma species om No heas India
Phylogene ic analyses based on ma K and ITS2 egions o he newly desc ibed
species and a ailable da abase om NCBI (Suppl. ma e ial 1: able S1) con i med
he placemen o he newly desc ibed species wi hin A gos emma (Rubiaceae).
These indings align wi h B eme (2009), who es ablished he monophyly o he
Rubiaceae amily. The ma K phylogene ic ee shows ha A. sawmlianae clus e s
closely wi h A. hooke i King and A. yappii King, suppo ed by boo s ap alues ang-
ing om 45 o 98. Simila ly, in he ITS2 phylogene ic ee, A. sawmlianae o ms a
well-suppo ed clade wi h A. yappii (boo s ap 85), oge he cons i u ing a dis inc
A gos emma g oup. The genomic da a o allied axa A gos emma cou allense
A n. and A. sa men osum Wall. we e no a ailable in he NCBI da abase, and he e-
o e, hese species could no be included in he phylogene ic analysis.
Discussion
The compa a i e analyses based on mo phological cha ac e s con i m ha
A gos emma sawmlianae sp. no . is mo phologically dis inc om closely e-
la ed species such as A. cou allense and A. sa men osum (Table 1). Key di -
e en ia ing ai s include i s sho semi-e ec s em, la ge anisophyllous pai
o lea es, mo e numbe o lowe coun pe cyme, uniquely conna e and olia-
ceous b ac s, glab ous peduncle and i s dis inc i e campanula e co olla wi h
e lexed, alca e lobes. These consis en and non-o e lapping cha ac e is ics
suppo i s ecogni ion as a no el species wi hin he genus A gos emma.
Figu e 5. Phylogene ic ee o A gos emma sawmlianae econs uc ed based on Maximum Likelihood (ML) as a cladis ic
me hod comp ising o 27 ITS2 nucleo ide sequences using MEGA X. Red solid ci cle indica es he placemen o
A. sawmlianae wi h A. yappi in he phylogene ic ee.
