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J. Jpn. Bot. 93(1): 65–67 (2018)

Keshab Raj RajbhandaRia,* and Ganga Datt bhattb: Garcinia cowa (Clusiaceae), a New Record from Nepal

aG.P.O. Box 9446, Kathmandu, NEPAL;bNational Herbarium and Plant Laboratories, Department of Plant Resources, Godawari, Lalitpur, NEPAL*Corresponding author: krrajbhandari@yahoo.com

Summary: Garcinia cowa Roxb. (Clusiaceae), collected from Salhesh Phulbari forest, Siraha District, central Nepal, is reported for the first time from Nepal.

Salhesh Phulbari forest, lying in 86°26ʹE longitude and 26°43ʹN latitude, is a 7.95 hectare patch of forest located in the Terai region (110–120 m altitude) in Siraha District, central Nepal. The Salhesh Phulbari forest is composed of mixed subtropical trees and shrubs of Putranjiva roxburghii Wall. (Putranjivaceae), Mallotus philippensis (Lam.) Müll. Arg. (Euphorbiaceae), Aphanamixis polystachya (Wall.) Parker (Meliaceae), Syzygium sp. (Myrtaceae), Machilus gamblei King ex Hook. f. (Lauraceae), Glochidion sp. (Euphorbiaceae), Streblus asper Lour. (Moraceae), Hyptianthera stricta Wight & Arn. (Rubiaceae), Xylosma longifolium Clos (Salicaceae) and Ardisia solanacea Roxb. (Primulaceae). The area is protected due to its historical and religious importance (Bhatt and Khatri 2016).

During the course of identification of the plants collected at Salhesh Phulbari forest (Salhesh Botanical Garden) we found a tree species, Garcinia cowa Roxb. (Clusiaceae), new to Nepal.

Previously, only one species of Garcinia, G. xanthochymus Hook. f. ex T. Anders., has been reported from Nepal (Robson 1979). Thus, this is the second species of Garcinia for the flora of Nepal.

Garcinia cowa Roxb., Fl. Ind. 2: 622 (1832).[Fig. 1]

Dioecious, evergreen tree, 6–10 m tall with leaves broadly lanceolate, elliptic or oblanceolate, 9.5–5.3 cm long and 2–4.5 cm wide, petiole 0.6–1.5 cm long, base cuneate, apex acuminate; flowers yellow, having 4 sepals and 4 yellow-flushed-pink or red petals, sepal pairs equal; male flowers 3–6 arranged in axillary fascicles; stamens numerous with anther dehiscence vertical by 4 clefts; female flowers 2–3 arranged in terminal fascicles; ovary 6–8-locular and fruit ovoid, smooth, 2–5 cm in diameter, 4–8-sulcate.

Distribution: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, China (Yunnan), Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Ecology: In forest. Flowering and fruiting: March–July. Local name: Kudhare. Use: The ripe acidic fruit is eaten. Children

like the fruit very much in Salhesh area. Specimens examined: C NEPAL. Siraha District,

Salhesh Phulbari, 115 m alt. (G. D. Bhatt & S. Khatri 20163022, 27 Mar 2016, with male flowers, KATH). Ibid., 115 m alt. (S. Khatri S-3, 19 May 2016, with fruit, KATH).

Garcinia cowa is similar to G. gummi-gutta (L.) N. Robson, distributed in south India, but it can be distinguished by having numerous stamens, ovary 6–8-locular (6-locular in our specimen), berries 2–5 cm in diameter (4–5 cm in our specimen) with 4–8 vertical grooves from base to apex, smooth, while G. gummi-gutta has 12–20 or more stamens, ovary 8–11-locular, berries up to 7 cm in diameter, with 6–8 vertical grooves ending about middle, mamillate (Singh

February 2018 TheJournal of Japanese Botany Vol. 93 No. 1 67

Kathmandu. Robson N. K. B. 1979. Guttiferae. In: Hara H. and Williams

L. H. J. (eds.), An Enumeration of the Flowering Plants of Nepal 2: 63. British Museum (Natural History),

London.Singh N. P. 1993. Clusiaceae. In: Sharma B. D. and

Sanjappa M. (eds.), Flora of India 3: 86–151. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta.

K. R. Rajbhandaria，G. D. bhattb：ネパール新産のフクギ属 Garcinia cowa （フクギ科）　ネパール中部の Siraha District, Salhesh Phulbariからフクギ属（フクギ科）の 1種，Garcinia cowa Roxb.を初めて報告した．Garcinia cowaは高さ 6–8 mほどの常緑小高木で，インド南部に分布する Garcinia gummi-gutta (L.) N. Robson に似るが，雄しべの数がより多く，

子房は 6–8室で，漿果は直径 2–5 cmで，基部から頂端にかけて 8本の溝がある点で異なる．

（aネパール・カトマンズ私書箱第 9446号，bネパール・植物資源局国立標本館及び植物研究室）