Tripogon fibrosissimus (Poaceae: Chloridoideae: Tripogoninae): a new species from the Grand Canyon of India

A new species, Tripogon fibrosissimus, is described from dry Gandikota hills of Andhra Pradesh, South India. This species exhibits morphological affinities with the Afro-Arabian congeners, T. africanus and T. oliganthos. However, T. fibrosissimus is readily distinguished by the presence of dense fibrous and villous basal leaf sheaths, a character not observed in its related taxa. The allopatric distribution—the geographical isolation of the South Indian population from its Afro-Arabian relatives—further supports their distinctness. We conducted a close morphology-based comparative study of T. fibrosissimus with T. africanus, T. montanus and T. oliganthos, as well as the recently described Indian species T. salunkhei. The similarities and differences have been tabulated in the table. Photographic plates of T. africanus and T. fibrosissimus are provided to facilitate identification. Finally, we discuss taxonomic notes regarding its superficial morphological similarities with Oropetium roxburghianum in field and herbaria to preclude the potential misidentification.