A REVISION OF PEDICULARIS SERIES CURVIPES (PRAIN) HURUS. (OROBANCHACEAE)

Abstract

Pedicularis L. series Curvipes (Prain) Hurus. (=Pedicularis [unranked] Curvipes Prain) in the Orobanchaceae (often included in the Scrophulariaceae s.l.) is revised. It is demonstrated that the correct name for the series is Pedicularis ser. Curvipes, not Pedicularis ser. Curvipedes as used by at least two previous authors. Arguments are presented for the retention of the three existing species, Pedicularis curvipes Prain, Pedicularis nagaensis H.L.Li and Pedicularis amplicollis T.Yamaz., and the taxonomic history of each is summarized. Pedicularis curvipes from Sikkim and Pedicularis nagaensis from NE India are very similar but can be distinguished on corolla and seed characters. Flowering material of Pedicularis curvipes collected from cultivated material of uncertain origin in 1900 is positively identified as that species for the first time. The known geographical range of Pedicularis nagaensis, which was previously believed to be endemic to a restricted area of Nagaland in NE India, is extended to include Manipur. Pedicularis amplicollis from Bhutan is distinct from both the other two and easily separable by its woolly, 4-lobed calyx. A key to the series and formal taxonomic accounts of each species are provided. The relationships of the series with related series, particularly Pedicularis ser. Furfuraceae, are discussed.