v13i2.341

Submitted date: 11 July 2023
Accepted date: 10 July 2024
Published date: XX December 2024
Pp. 138–140, pls. 30–31.

Genetic diversity and population structure of Crudia zeylanica (Fabaceae), Sri Lanka

M.G.C. Sooriyabandara, P. Wimaladasa, C.H.W.M.R.B. Chandrasekara, R.M.R. Nilanthi & P.C.G. Bandaranayake
*Corresponding author. E-mail: csooriyabandara@gmail.com

The genus Crudia (Schreb.) belongs to the family Fabaceae and is named after J.W. Crudy (1753–ca.1810), a plant collector from the Bahamas (Lanjouw & Stafleu 1954). The genus is pantropical and consists of approximately 55 species, mostly from Asia with others from Africa and tropical America. The species was first discovered and originally described as Detarium zeylanicum (Thwaites, 1864) and assigned to the genus Crudia in 1865 (Bentham 1865). The holotype was collected from Galpatha, Kaluthara District, and deposited at the National Herbarium of Peradeniya under C.P number 3714. Since then, there have been no further records of this species from the field and it has been categorised as extinct species in the IUCN Red List of 2006 and the National Red List of 2012. Crudia zeylanica was rediscovered in 2019 when a mature tree was identified based on its morphology in the Gampaha District of Sri Lanka. Subsequent explorations in the same district identified seven populations consisting of mature trees, saplings, and seedlings. With these findings, the National Red List of 2020 categorized C. zeylanica as a Critically Endangered (CR) species. Further, it is a protected species under the provisions of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance of Sri Lanka.

Section Editor: Wendy A. Mustaqim