A NEW SPECIES OF MEIOGYNE (ANNONACEAE) FROM THE EASTERN HIMALAYAS OF NORTHEAST INDIA

Abstract

The genus Meiogyne is distributed throughout South and Southeast Asia and includes approximately 33 described taxa. A new species, Meiogyne arunachalensis, is here described from the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India. This is the third species from India and the first from the Eastern Himalayan and Northeast Indian region. This species shows morphological similarity with Meiogyne maxiflora, a species distributed in Thailand, but it differs in a number of vegetative and reproductive characters. Meiogyne arunachalensis is the largest species of the genus described so far in terms of tree height and girth of the tree trunk. Detailed colour photographs are provided to highlight its morphological distinctness and facilitate identification in the field.