Rediscovery of Geophila repens (L.) I.M. Johnst. (Rubiaceae) in Bangladesh

After the original publication of Geophila by Don (1825), very limited studies have been done on this genus in Indian subcontinent (Panda et al., 2008; Roy et al., 2011). No species of this genus was known to be distributed in Bangladesh before Roxburgh (1832). Roxburgh (1832) reported Psychotria herbacea Jacq. from Sylhet which was considered by Hooker (1882) and Kanjilal et al. (1939) as a synonym of Geophila reniformis D. Don. Roy et al. (2011) reported it from Assam, India and included Bangladesh as one of the countries of its distribution based on Roxburgh (1832). Later on G. reniformis was found as a superfluous illegimate name and Carinta repens (L.) Bremek. was considered as its accepted name by Bremekemp (1963) and Geophila repens (L.) I. M. Johnst. by Standley & Williams (1975), and Flora of China Editorial Committee (2011). But Steyermark (1972) established C. repens (L.) Bremek. as a synonym of G. repens (L.) I. M. Johnst. Thus P. herbacea, C. repens and G. reniformis have been established as the synomyms of Geophila repens (L.) I.M. Johnst. (Steyermark, 1972; Standley & Williams, 1975; Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2011).

After the original publication of Geophila by Don (1825), very limited studies have been done on this genus in Indian subcontinent (Panda et al., 2008;Roy et al., 2011). No species of this genus was known to be distributed in Bangladesh before Roxburgh (1832). Roxburgh (1832) reported Psychotria herbacea Jacq. from Sylhet which was considered by Hooker (1882) and Kanjilal et al. (1939) as a synonym of Geophila reniformis D. Don. Roy et al. (2011) reported it from Assam, India and included Bangladesh as one of the countries of its distribution based on Roxburgh (1832). Later on G. reniformis was found as a superfluous illegimate name and Carinta repens (L.) Bremek. was considered as its accepted name by Bremekemp (1963) and Geophila repens (L.) I. M. Johnst. by Standley & Williams (1975), and Flora of China Editorial Committee (2011). But Steyermark (1972) established C. repens (L.) Bremek. as a synonym of G. repens (L.) I. M. Johnst. Thus P. herbacea, C. repens and G. reniformis have been established as the synomyms of Geophila repens (L.) I.M. Johnst. (Steyermark, 1972;Standley & Williams, 1975;Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2011). This species has been included in Ahmed et al. (2009) but any information on its distribution in Bangladesh or citation of its any specimen has not been provided in addition to the recitation of Roxburgh (1832)'s record. Therefore, after Roxburgh (1832) nobody rediscovered this species from Bangladesh and no specimen of this species has been found to be deposited in any herbarium of this country. Recently, while working on the flora of Narsingdi district, the first author collected some specimens of Geophila ( Fig.  1) from moist, shady and humus-rich habitats in the bamboo bushes of Belabo and Monohordi upazilas).
After a critical study, these specimens have been identified as Geophila repens. As this species has never been recorded from Bangladesh within the last 186 years since its first report by Roxburgh in 1832, therefore, this species has been reported here as a rediscovery for Bangladesh to confirm its present occurrence and distribution in this country.
The representative specimens of G. repens were collected using standard herbarium technique (Heyland, 1972). The characteristics of this specimen were examined in Plant Systematics and Biodiversity Laboratory of Jahangirnagar University. Taxonomic identification was confirmed based on its key characters described in the recent taxonomic literatures (e.g., Tao et al., 2011) and the type images available in the web pages of international herbaria (e.g., Kew Herbarium Catalogue, Geneva Herbarium Catalogue). Nomenclatural information was collected from IPNI (2016)  Perennial, creeping, terrestrial herb (Fig. 2). Stems quadrate to terete, glabrous, with rooting at the nodes, 25-35 cm long, reproductive branches ascending, 10-15 cm tall.
Flowering and Fruiting: May-September.
Habitat: In moist shady floor, rich in humus under the deep bamboo bushes in low sunlight (Fig.1).
Distribution: Tropical Africa, South America, Central America, North America, Madagascar, Polynesia, India, Myanmar, Malay Archipelago, South China, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
The species Geophila repens seems to be confined to some localities of Belabo and Monohordi Upazila of Narsingdi district with poor natural regeneration. The current occurrence of this species in Sylhet region could not be confirmed. No specimen was found in the national and local herbaria of Bangladesh.