{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03197563760944042, 'fraction_numerical': 0.011800532927293491, 'mean_word_length': 5.069284064665127, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
A new variety of Brachystelma maculatum (Apocynaceae) from Andhra Pradesh, India

: A new variety of Brachystelma maculatum Hook.f. is described from Anantapuram district of Andhra Pradesh, India. A detailed description, photographs and conservation status are provided for the new variety.


Introduction
Brachystelma R.Br. is the second largest genus of tribe Ceropegieae (Apocynaceae) with about 160 species which are distributed mainly in the Old World tropics, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, Sri Lanka, South East Asia and Northern Australia (Venu & Prasad, 2015). So far 34 species are reported from India and all of them are known to be confined to Indian political boundaries (Prasad & Venu, 2020). The genus Brachystelma has been traditionally distinguished from the morphologically similar Ceropegia L. by its completely open flowers (non-tubular) against a tubular corolla in the latter. During recent floristic field surveys for bulbous plants in the southern Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, we located a population of Brachystelma, which was found growing in grassy patches in dry deciduous forests of the Nigidi Reserve Forest in Anantapuram district. After critical examination of the collected specimens and perusal of the relevant literature, it was found to be represents a variant of Brachystelma maculatum Hook.f., which was recently located near the Sikharam area in the Nalamalla hills of Andhra Pradesh (Prasad & Venu, 2018). The present taxon exhibits a few differences in flower bud shape, size of corolla lobes and inter-staminal corona. Therefore, it is recognized as a new variety of Brachystelma maculatum. A key to the varieties of Brachystelma maculatum is also provided.
Flowering & fruiting: Flowering from August to September; fruiting from September to October.
Habitat: In blackish-red soils among grasses in dry deciduous forests, at 500-600 m elevation.
Etymology: This new variety is named with reference to its shorter flowers.

Distribution:
The new variety is presently known only from the type locality, Nigidi Reserve Forest, Anantapuram district, Andhra Pradesh.

Conservation status:
The new variety, Brachystelma maculatum var. breviflorum, is known only from the type locality, Nigidi Reserve Forest. The population here has less than 50 mature individuals spread in an area of about 1 km 2 . However, the present habitat is affected by seasonal forest fires, grazing and other anthropogenic factors. The new taxon is assessed here as Data Deficient (DD) since further exploration in the adjacent hill tracts is necessary to ascertain its actual status (IUCN, 2019).