taxonID	type	description	language	source
735387CFB72CCD57FF76049C07D7A1C8.taxon	materials_examined	Type: — INDIA. Sikkim: Soreng district, Mangalbaria, collected from epipetric habitat, 27 ° 11 ’ 40.08 ” N, 88 ° 18 ’ 31.00 ” E, 970 m, 9 June 2020, P. Rai PO 503 (holotype BSHC!, isotype DARJL!).	en	Rai, Pramod, Mathieu, Guido (2023): Peperomia mangalbaria (Piperaceae), a new species from Sikkim Himalaya, India. Phytotaxa 609 (2): 138-144, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6
735387CFB72CCD57FF76049C07D7A1C8.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis: — Peperomia mangalbaria resembles the widespread Old World species Peperomia leptostachya in habitat preference, plant size, general leaf morphology, and axillary or terminal inflorescence position. However, it is distinct by its trailing habit (vs. erect), leaf apex obtuse or rounded (vs. acute), leaf indument pubescent abaxially and glabrescent adaxially (vs. both sides puberulous) and pinnatinerved leaves (vs. palmatinerved).	en	Rai, Pramod, Mathieu, Guido (2023): Peperomia mangalbaria (Piperaceae), a new species from Sikkim Himalaya, India. Phytotaxa 609 (2): 138-144, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6
735387CFB72CCD57FF76049C07D7A1C8.taxon	description	Perennial herbs, epiphytic or epipetric. Stems trailing, 10 – 50 cm long, 2 – 3 mm diameter, with ascending branches; young branches light green, pubescent, matured ones dark green and mottled with reddish-brown spots and longitudinal stripes; rooting from the nodes; internodes 1 – 5 cm long, basal internodes longest, terete. Leaves opposite or 3 – 4 - verticillate; petioles 0.3 – 1 cm long, pubescent; laminae 0.8 – 3 × 0.5 – 2.5 cm, ovate, ovate-elliptic, obovate, orbicular, suborbicular, or obcordate, sometimes asymmetric, basal leaves smaller and thicker, terminal ones larger and thinner, both sides pubescent when young, adaxially glabrescent at maturity, abaxially more densely pubescent than adaxially, deep green adaxially, silvery-green abaxially; obscurely 3 - to 5 - pinnatinerved, the central nerve with side branches in larger leaves, margin entire, ciliate, base cuneate or rounded, apex rounded, obtuse, or emarginate. Inflorescences 2 – 4 (– 5) terminal spikes, sometimes solitary on shorter branches, erect or sub-erect; peduncles 0.3 – 0.5 cm long, glabrous or sparsely pubescent; rachis glabrous, 1.5 – 5 cm long, ca. 2 mm in diameter; rachial pits dark green, oval; floral bracts peltate, green, erect at the fertile pits, otherwise adpressed, inserted at base of rachial pit, ca. 1 mm in diameter; stamens two, anthers white, ovoid, exerted at maturity, ca. 2 × 1 mm; ovary ovoid, stigma cup-shaped, ca. 3 × 1 mm, translucent, white. Fruits slightly pseudo-pedicellate, spaced 1 – 2 mm apart, ovoid to globose, ca. 2 mm in diameter, yellowish-green to dark brown at maturity; pericarp entirely covered with white, sticky papillae; style conical, without papillae.	en	Rai, Pramod, Mathieu, Guido (2023): Peperomia mangalbaria (Piperaceae), a new species from Sikkim Himalaya, India. Phytotaxa 609 (2): 138-144, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6
735387CFB72CCD57FF76049C07D7A1C8.taxon	materials_examined	Additional specimens examined (paratypes): — INDIA. Gangtok district: Lumsey, above Ranikholaa, 27 ° 19 ’ 13.00 ” N, 88 ° 35 ’ 36.67 ” E, 910 m, 23 September 2021, P. Rai P 0832 (BSHC); Adampool, vicinity of Singabahini Temple, 27 ° 18 ’ 40.90 ” N, 88 ° 34 ’ 53.44 ” E, 900 m, 23 September 2021, P. Rai P 0834 (DARJL); Rumtek, between Ranikholaa and Raniban Homestay, 27 ° 18 ’ 10.55 ” N, 88 ° 34 ’ 56.66 ” E, 885 m, 14 October 2022, P. Rai P 0836 (BSHC). Namchi district: Assangthang, below 9 th Mail, 27 ° 09 ’ 47.08 ” N, 88 ° 19 ’ 29.00 ” E, 900 m, 13 June 2021, P. Rai P 0504 (DARJL). Soreng district: Tato pani, 27 ° 14 ’ 46.07 ” N, 88 ° 18 ’ 09.00 ” E, 500 m, 4 August 2020, P. Rai P 0840 (DARJL).	en	Rai, Pramod, Mathieu, Guido (2023): Peperomia mangalbaria (Piperaceae), a new species from Sikkim Himalaya, India. Phytotaxa 609 (2): 138-144, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6
735387CFB72CCD57FF76049C07D7A1C8.taxon	biology_ecology	Phenology: — This species has been found flowering from June to September and fruiting from July to October.	en	Rai, Pramod, Mathieu, Guido (2023): Peperomia mangalbaria (Piperaceae), a new species from Sikkim Himalaya, India. Phytotaxa 609 (2): 138-144, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6
735387CFB72CCD57FF76049C07D7A1C8.taxon	distribution	Distribution: — Currently considered as endemic to India, state of Sikkim (Adampool, Lumsey, Mangalbaria, Rumtek, and Tato Pani), 500 – 970 m (Fig. 3).	en	Rai, Pramod, Mathieu, Guido (2023): Peperomia mangalbaria (Piperaceae), a new species from Sikkim Himalaya, India. Phytotaxa 609 (2): 138-144, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6
735387CFB72CCD57FF76049C07D7A1C8.taxon	etymology	Etymology: — The specific epithet denotes Mangalbaria (also Mangalbarey), a town in Soreng, a district of Sikkim, India and the type locality of the new species. The epithet is used as a noun in apposition.	en	Rai, Pramod, Mathieu, Guido (2023): Peperomia mangalbaria (Piperaceae), a new species from Sikkim Himalaya, India. Phytotaxa 609 (2): 138-144, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6
735387CFB72CCD57FF76049C07D7A1C8.taxon	discussion	Note: — Based on vegetative, flowering as well as fruiting characters, P. mangalbaria can be classified in Peperomia subsp. Micropiper (Miq.) Miq. (Miquel 1843: 45,76) (Frenzke et al. 2015: 427). The taxonomically similar taxon P. leptostachya belongs to the same subgenus and both species are compared in Table 1.	en	Rai, Pramod, Mathieu, Guido (2023): Peperomia mangalbaria (Piperaceae), a new species from Sikkim Himalaya, India. Phytotaxa 609 (2): 138-144, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6
735387CFB72CCD57FF76049C07D7A1C8.taxon	biology_ecology	Ecology: — Plants prefer cooler shaded habitats in tropical or subtropical biomes. It is apparently drought tolerant due to the thickened stem that can withstand prolonged dry periods. It may grow as epiphyte as well as epipetric. Epiphytic populations were seen on basal trunks of tree species such as Bauhinia Linnaeus (1753: 374), Dalbergia Linnaeus f. (1782: 316) and Albizia Durazzini (1772: 11). Epipetric populations were growing together with mosses and ferns such as Adiantum Linnaeus (1753: 1094) and Pyrrosia Mirbel in Lamarck & Mirbel (1803: 471).	en	Rai, Pramod, Mathieu, Guido (2023): Peperomia mangalbaria (Piperaceae), a new species from Sikkim Himalaya, India. Phytotaxa 609 (2): 138-144, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6
735387CFB72CCD57FF76049C07D7A1C8.taxon	conservation	Conservation status: — Currently, the new species is known from only three districts of Sikkim, viz. Gangtok, Namchi, and Soreng, with three, one and two populations, respectively. The Namchi population is ca. 29 km southwest from the Gangtok populations, and the Soreng populations are ca. 34 km northwest of Namchi (see Fig. 3). On further assessment of the populations using GeoCAT Geospatial Conservation Assessment tool, Area of Occupancy and Extent of Occurrence were 24 km ² and 185.841 km ², respectively. Therefore, it is proposed to consider this species as Endangered (EN) (IUCN 2022).	en	Rai, Pramod, Mathieu, Guido (2023): Peperomia mangalbaria (Piperaceae), a new species from Sikkim Himalaya, India. Phytotaxa 609 (2): 138-144, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.609.2.6
