5. Gomphostemma nipeum Hook.f.

(Hooker 1883: 695); Prain (1891: 230); Mukercee (1920: 205). Type: Bangladesh, East Bengal, Griffith 1013 (lectotype K [K000826322]), selected here; isolectotypes BM, E [E00301952]).

Herb up to 1.2 m tall. Stems erect, woody at base, obtusely quadrangular with longitudinal grooves, tomentose with dense whitish stellate hairs. Leaoes subsessile, chartaceous; blades obovate or elliptic-obovate, 9 – 31 × 3 – 12 cm, apex acute, margin shallowly serrate, base attenuate; upper side glabrous; lower side whitish or creamy-white tomentose with dense sessile hairs; petioles 3 – 13 mm long. Inflorescence axillary with opposite cymes sessile, unbranched, congested with axis not visible between flowers, inserted at the upper nodes at which leaves are usually present; verticils many-flowered; cluster of leaf-like bracts, sessile, deciduous, ovate or elliptic, (10 –) 13 – 30 × (2 –) 8 – 13 mm, apex acute, margin serrate at the apical part and entire at the basal part, base attenuate, upper side puberulent, lower side with white stellate hairs; bracteoles falcate or linear, 5 – 13 mm long. Flowering calyx infundibular, 8 – 10 mm long, 10-ridged, outside with stellate hairs, inside with adpressed shortly simple hairs; tube 2 – 3 mm long; lobes 2 – 3 mm long, apex acuminate. Fruiting calyx infundibular, 9 – 12 mm long; tube 2 – 6 mm long; lobes 3 – 6 mm long. Corolla yellow, 13 – 13 mm long, throat narrow, not enlarged, sometimes gradually dilated towards the throat, outside tomentose, inside glabrous; tube straight, 10 – 12 mm long, slightly or hardly exserted from calyx. Staminal filaments fleshy, slightly tomentose. Nutlets solitary, oblong or obovate, 2 – 3 mm long.

DISTRIBUTION. Bangladesh. Map 2.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED. BANGLADESH. East Bengal [now Bangladesh], Griffith 1013 (lectotype K; isolectotypes BM, E); ibid., Griffith s.n. (lectoparatype K).

CONSERVATION STATUS. Gomphostemma nioeum is known only from the types and no new collection has been made since then.?ata to evaluate decline of habitats is not available. Hence, the?ata?eficient (??) category is applied to this species.

NOTES. Gomphostemma nioeum is recognised by having sessile or subsessile leaves which are white tomentose on the lower side and by a slightly or hardly exserted corolla tube from calyx. It is morphologically similar to G. sulcatum by having cluster of small leaf-like bracts but that species has a clearly exserted corolla tube.

Two of Griffith’ s collections from ‘East Bengal’ are found at K, of which only one has the number 1013 [K000826322]; this is chosen as the lectotype.