Introduction
Psammogeton Edgew. is a small genus with 14 species that are primarily found in Asia (Mousavi et al. 2022 ). There are currently only six species known to exist in India (Bhellum and Magotra 2023) and four of those are from Jammu and Kashmir. As part of the plant collections in the flora of Jammu and Kashmir, several intriguing sample specimens were collected during the plant exploration from the Jammu area of Jammu and Kashmir between 2010 and 2018.
This taxa has never been documented from India, according to a review of relevant taxonomic literature (Babu 1977, Ahmed and Koul 1980, Sharma and Kachroo 1981, Swami and Gupta 1998, Dhar and Kachroo 1983). After carefully examining the samples, it was eventually determined in the lab that these were new records for the flora for India. According to a review of the Indian floristic literature, the plant has not yet been recorded to the Flora of India and is thus Psammogeton canescenssubsp. cabulica listed as a new taxa. The subspecies of the genus are recognised by sparsely to densely pubescent herb, T-shaped hairs on fruits, bracts ranging from four to seven and presence of trichomes; bracteoles five to seven, margin ciliate; peripheral branches longer than the central main axis. For ease of identification, a brief description of the subspecies, blooming and fruiting dates, distribution, photographs, photo plates, and a key to its closely related subspecies are provided. The taxonomic accounts of the subspecies under investigation. are also included.