Abstract
A new species of Sida, S. keralensis is described with photographs from the southern Western Ghats, Kerala, India. It is morphologically similar to Sida scabrida but clearly distinct by being an undershrub with adpressed stellate hairy stem, discolorous ovate or narrowly ovate to elliptic-ovate leaves with rounded-subcordate base, acute apex and crenate-serrate margins from the base; the linear-lanceolate to slightly falcate stipules, the fairly shorter floral and fruiting pedicels more or less equal to the stipules, fairly long staminal columns and the glabrescent mericarps with stellately pubescent awns.
References
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<p>Candolle, A. de (1825) <em>Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis, sive, Enumeratio contracta ordinum generum specierum que plantarum hucusque cognitarium, juxta methodi naturalis, normas digesta Aug</em>, vol. 2. Sumptibus Sociorum Treuttelet Würtz, Paris, 664 pp.</p>
<p>Garcke, A. (1857) Die Gattung <em>Malvastrum </em>Asa Gray. <em>Bonplandia </em>5: 292–298.</p>
<p>Gavade, S.K., Nimbalkar,V., Lekhak, M. & Sardesai, M. (2020) Identity, occurrence and typification of <em>Sida angustifolia</em> (Malvaceae), a neglected species in India. <em>Annales Botanici Fennici</em> 57 (1–3): 279–284.</p>
<p>Linnaeus, C. (1753) <em>Species Plantarum</em>. Impensis Laurentii Salvii, Stockholm, 1200 pp. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316335581</p>
<p>Mabberley, D.J. (2017) <em>Mabberley’s Plant book, a portable dictionary of plants, their classification and uses</em>, 4th Edn. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1102 pp.</p>
<p>Persoon, C.H. (1805) <em>Synopsis Plantarum: seu Enchiridium botanicum, complectense numerationnem systematicam specierum hucusque cognitarum</em>. Vol. 1. Parisiis Lutetiorum, pp. 1–546. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.638</p>
<p>Sivarajan, V.V. & Pradeep, A.K. (1996) <em>Malvaceae of Southern Peninsular India: A taxonomic monograph</em>. Daya Publishing House, New Delhi, 312 pp.</p>
<p>Tambde, G., Nimbalkar, V., Lekhak, M. & Sardesai, M. (2016) <em>Sida pradeepiana </em>(Malvaceae), a new species from India. <em>Nordic Journal of Botany </em>34 (5): 573–577. https://doi.org/10.1111/njb.01147</p>
<p>Tambde, G., Sardesai, M. & Pandey A.K. (2020) <em>Sida sivarajanii</em> (Malvaceae):a new species from India. <em>Phytotaxa</em> 428 (2): 104–112. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.428.2.4</p>
<p>Thiers, B. (2020 [continuously updated]) <em>Index Herbariorum: a global directory of public 22 herbaria and associated staff. New York Botanical Garden’s Virtual Herbarium</em>. Available at: http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/ (accessed 18 January 2020)</p>
<p>Wight, R. & Arnott, G.A.W. (1834) <em>Prodromus Florae Peninsulae Indiae Orientalis</em>, vol. 1.Parbury, Allen & Co., London, xxxvii + 404 pp.</p>