Author

GP Jürgens

Saxifragaceae

Saxifraga diversifolia

by GP Jürgens

Wall. & Ser.

Nepal 95 134 P227 ergebnis
Nepal south of Rupien La 3600m October
Bhutan2012 501
Bhutan Pele-La 3100m, September
Bhutan2012 500
Bhutan Wangdi 3100m, September

Description

Saxifraga diversifolia Wall. & Ser. is a Sino-Himalayan alpine herb with GBIF recording 742 occurrences across China, Nepal, India, Myanmar, Bhutan and Pakistan. It is a plant of subalpine and alpine meadows, open slopes, shrubberies and damp grassy banks, typically growing between about 3000 and 4500 m. The cited collections — south of the Rupien La in Nepal at 3600 m in October, and from the Pele-La and Wangdi areas of Bhutan around 3100 m in September — show its broad occurrence through the central and eastern Himalaya and its autumn flowering at the close of the monsoon season.

The species is a tufted perennial arising from a short rhizome, with erect, leafy flowering stems. As the epithet diversifolia implies, the foliage is dimorphic: the basal leaves are long-petiolate with cordate to reniform blades, whereas the cauline leaves are progressively sessile and amplexicaul, clasping the stem. The inflorescence is a terminal cyme of several yellow flowers; each flower has five spreading petals, ten stamens, and a bicarpellate, partly inferior ovary. The fruit is a two-beaked capsule splitting between the divergent styles to release numerous small seeds.

Within the very large genus Saxifraga, this species is placed in the yellow-flowered section Hirculus, a predominantly Asian alpine group well represented in the Himalaya and on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Several Himalayan species of this section are morphologically close and have been variously circumscribed. The species is pollinated by alpine insects and is not considered threatened, being locally common across its extensive montane range, where it forms part of the diverse high-elevation meadow flora of the eastern Himalaya.

Author: Wall. & Ser. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of Nepal, Webb & Gornall monograph of Saxifrages

Saxifragaceae

Saxifraga erinacea

by GP Jürgens

Harry Sm.

BhutanPG2011 465
Bhutan Jule-Tso, 4300m June

Description

Saxifraga erinacea is a high-alpine cushion saxifrage of the eastern Himalaya, with a narrow distribution recorded by GBIF only from China (south-eastern Tibet) and Bhutan (12 occurrences), pointing to a restricted Sino-Himalayan range. It inhabits open alpine turf, fine scree, rock crevices and moist gravelly slopes well above the treeline, typically between about 4000 and 4800 m. The photographed plant from Jule-Tso in Bhutan at 4300 m, flowering in June, exemplifies its preference for the cold, exposed, snow-influenced alpine zone where it forms low mats among rocks moistened by snowmelt.

The species is a small, tufted to loosely cushion-forming perennial herb, the name erinacea (hedgehog-like) alluding to its bristly, congested habit. The leaves are small, narrowly oblong to linear, often rigid, marginally ciliate or setose and crowded into dense rosettes or low mats. Flowering stems are short, glandular-hairy, bearing one to few flowers held just above the foliage. Each flower is small and pentamerous, with five spreading petals (typically yellow to pale yellow) exceeding the calyx, ten stamens, and a bicarpellate ovary that is more or less superior. The fruit is a two-beaked capsule splitting between the divergent styles to shed numerous minute seeds.

Described by Harry Smith, a leading specialist on Asian Saxifraga, the species belongs within the large and morphologically diverse genus Saxifraga, most likely allied to the yellow-flowered alpine sections of the Sino-Himalaya. Its dense cushion architecture is a classic adaptation to cold, wind-exposed, desiccating high-mountain habitats, conserving heat and moisture. Given its apparently localised range and specialised alpine niche, the species is potentially sensitive to climate warming and upslope habitat compression, though it remains formally unassessed.

Author: Harry Sm. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Saxifrages: The Complete Cultivars and Species (McGregor)

Saxifragaceae

Saxifraga filicaulis

by GP Jürgens

Wall. & Ser.

Bhutan2012 916 ergebnis
Bhutan Tumching-La 4100m, October
Bhutan2012 917 ergebnis
Bhutan Tumching-La 4100m, October

Description

Saxifraga filicaulis is a Himalayan saxifrage distributed across China, India, Nepal and Bhutan, well represented in GBIF with about 328 occurrences. It is a plant of the alpine and upper subalpine zone, inhabiting moist rock ledges, mossy slopes, streamsides, screes and turfy banks, broadly between about 3000 and 4500 m. The record from the Tumching-La in Bhutan at 4100 m in October reflects its presence near high passes and its late-season persistence, where snowmelt seepage and cool, humid conditions favour these small rosette and mat-forming herbs.

It is a slender perennial whose specific epithet, "filicaulis" (thread-stemmed), describes its fine, wiry, often trailing or decumbent stems that root at the nodes and form loose mats. The leaves are small, the lower ones petiolate and the upper sessile, ovate to oblong, sometimes shortly ciliate. The flowers are borne singly or in few-flowered cymes on slender stalks; each has five free, spreading, usually yellow petals, often dotted with orange or reddish flecks, five sepals, ten stamens and a half-inferior ovary of two carpels with two short styles. The fruit is a beaked capsule splitting between the divergent styles.

Saxifraga is a large genus centred on the cold mountains of the Northern Hemisphere, with a notable secondary diversification in the Sino-Himalaya where sectional complexes such as the yellow-flowered Ciliatae are richly developed. S. filicaulis belongs to this Himalayan radiation, its stoloniferous, mat-forming habit being an effective strategy for colonising unstable, moist alpine substrates. It is widespread and not of conservation concern.

Author: Wall. & Ser. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Saxifraga monograph (Gornall / Pan)

Saxifragaceae

Saxifraga georgei

by GP Jürgens

J. Anthony

BhutanPG2011 295
Bhutan Jule-Tso, 4000m June
BhutanPG2011 467
Bhutan Jule-Tso, 4000m June

Description

Saxifraga georgei J. Anthony is a high-alpine saxifrage of the eastern Himalaya, recorded from Nepal, Bhutan, India and southern China, with around 50 GBIF occurrences reflecting its localised, high-elevation range; an isolated German record represents cultivated material. It grows on rocky alpine slopes, screes, moraines, cliff ledges and crevices, typically above about 3800 m. The photographed plant from Jule-Tso in Bhutan at approximately 4000 m, flowering in June, is characteristic of its niche in cold, exposed, rocky subnival terrain where it forms low cushions or tufts among stones.

The species is a small, mat- or cushion-forming perennial herb with a branched, somewhat woody base bearing dense rosettes of small, obovate to spathulate, often glandular-margined leaves. The flowering stems are short and few-flowered, glandular-hairy, carrying flowers with a cupular hypanthium, five free sepals and five yellow petals frequently marked with orange or reddish spots. The two carpels are partly fused below, ripening into a small bicarpellate capsule that opens to shed numerous minute seeds.

Saxifraga georgei is placed in Saxifraga section Ciliatae (subsection allied to the Sino-Himalayan cushion saxifrages, Saxifragaceae), a major radiation centred on the high mountains of western China and the Himalaya. Its cushion habit and glandular indumentum are adaptations to cold, desiccating high-altitude conditions. A narrow-range alpine specialist, it is uncommon and, while not formally assessed, is potentially vulnerable to climate-driven habitat contraction.

Author: J. Anthony · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, Flora of Nepal, Gornall and Pan monographic studies of Saxifraga

Saxifragaceae

Saxifraga moorcroftiana

by GP Jürgens

(Ser.) Wall. & Sternb.

Sikkim2003 218 P303
Sikkim Dzongri 3900m, August
Sikkim2003 219 G304
Sikkim Dzongri 3900m, August

Description

Saxifraga moorcroftiana is a Himalayan saxifrage distributed through Nepal, India, Bhutan, Pakistan and China, with about 281 georeferenced records confirming a wide presence across the high ranges. It is a plant of open, rocky alpine and subalpine ground — stony slopes, cliff ledges, moraine and gravelly meadows — in the zone above and around treeline. The illustrated material from Dzongri in Sikkim, at about 3900 m and flowering in August, reflects the late-summer flowering typical of the species in the moist eastern Himalayan alpine belt, where it grows among rocks kept moist by snow-melt.

The plant is a perennial herb forming tufts or low cushions from a branched rootstock, with rosettes of small, more or less fleshy, oblong to spathulate leaves that may be glandular-hairy and sometimes lime-encrusted along the margins. The flowering stems are erect, often reddish and glandular, bearing a few-flowered cyme or panicle. The flowers are small, with five free sepals, five spreading petals that are pale yellow to greenish-yellow, frequently spotted or flushed with red or orange, and ten stamens. The gynoecium consists of two largely fused carpels, ripening into a bilobed capsule that opens between the beaks to shed numerous minute seeds.

Saxifraga is a large, predominantly arctic-alpine genus, richly developed in the Sino-Himalayan mountains where numerous species occupy specialised rock and screen habitats. The combination is attributed to Wallich and Sternberg, the latter author of an early monograph of the genus. As a widespread component of Himalayan alpine vegetation, S. moorcroftiana is not regarded as threatened, though, like other high-mountain saxifrages, its narrow ecological requirements render local populations sensitive to grazing and to the upward shift of climatic zones.

Author: (Ser.) Wall. & Sternb. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Pakistan, Flora of China (Saxifragaceae), Webb & Gornall: Saxifrages of Europe and monographic treatments of Saxifraga

Saxifragaceae

Saxifraga parnassifolia

by GP Jürgens

D. Don

Bhutan2012 49
Bhutan Chele-La 3800m, September
Bhutan2015 485
Bhutan Chele-La 3800m, September
Bhutan2015 486
Bhutan, Pele-La 3000m, October
Nepal 95 129 P221 ergebnis
Nepal south of Rupien La 3200m October

Description

Saxifraga parnassifolia is a Himalayan saxifrage distributed from Nepal through Sikkim and the adjoining Indian hills into Bhutan and southern Tibet (China), with GBIF recording 208 occurrences across NP, CN, IN and BT. It grows on damp rock ledges, mossy banks, cliff faces and shaded humid slopes in the upper temperate to subalpine zone, broadly between about 3000 and 4000 m. The photographed populations were documented in Bhutan at Chele-La (3800 m, September) and Pele-La (3000 m, October) and in Nepal south of the Rupien La (3200 m, October), reflecting a notably late, autumn flowering period for the species.

The plant is a perennial herb forming small tufts from a short rootstock. As the epithet parnassifolia suggests, its basal leaves resemble those of Parnassia: they are ovate to cordate, long-petiolate, entire or slightly toothed, and somewhat fleshy, clustered in a rosette. The flowering stems are erect and bear a lax, few- to several-flowered cyme. Each flower has five free sepals, five spreading white to greenish or pinkish petals, ten stamens, and a half-inferior ovary of two carpels united below and produced into two divergent styles. The fruit is a two-beaked capsule splitting between the styles to release numerous minute seeds.

Within the large genus Saxifraga, the species is placed in section Mesogyne/Cymbalaria allies of the broad-leaved Himalayan rosette saxifrages, distinguished by its Parnassia-like foliage and autumnal anthesis. As a chasmophyte of moist montane rock it indicates humid, sheltered microhabitats. It is locally frequent across its Himalayan range and is not considered threatened, though its cliff and ledge habitats are naturally restricted.

Author: D. Don · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Flora of China (Saxifragaceae)

Saxifragaceae

Saxifraga pulvinaria

by GP Jürgens

Harry Sm.

Nepal 99 592 ergebnis
West-Nepal, Grabung-Khola, July
Nepal 99 593 ergebnis
West-Nepal, Grabung-Khola, July

Nepal 99 824 ergebnis
West-Nepal Baga-La-Phedi 4200m, July

Description

Saxifraga pulvinaria is a high-alpine cushion saxifrage of the Himalaya and adjacent Central Asia, recorded from Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan and southern Tibet (China), extending into Tajikistan, Myanmar and the Russian mountains; GBIF holds about 287 occurrences. It is a plant of the upper alpine and subnival zone, colonising stony slopes, moraine, rock crevices and exposed fellfield, as documented in West Nepal at the Grabung-Khola and at Baga-La-Phedi at 4200 m. At these elevations the cushion habit is an adaptation to wind, frost, desiccation and intense radiation, and flowering is restricted to the brief summer window (July) following snowmelt.

It is a perennial forming a dense, compact, hemispherical cushion (the epithet "pulvinaria" denoting this pulvinate growth form) composed of crowded, columnar leaf rosettes. The leaves are minute, sessile, narrowly oblong to spathulate, often somewhat fleshy, imbricate and persistent, frequently bearing chalk-secreting hydathode lime pits along the margin characteristic of the encrusted saxifrages. The flowers are solitary and nearly sessile, set just above the cushion surface; they are small and 5-merous, with white to pinkish or pale yellow petals, ten stamens and a half-inferior to nearly superior ovary of two carpels. The fruit is a small two-beaked capsule releasing numerous minute seeds.

Described by the saxifrage specialist Harry Smith, the species belongs to Saxifraga sect. Porphyrion, the large group of cushion- and crust-forming alpine saxifrages centred on the high mountains of Asia and Europe. The compact cushion architecture buffers internal temperature and humidity and traps wind-blown debris, an ecological strategy shared with many subnival plants. The flowers are pollinated by the few flies and bees active at such heights. Widespread though confined to extreme habitats, the species is not regarded as threatened, but its cold, high-elevation niche makes it a sensitive indicator of alpine climate change.

Author: Harry Sm. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Pakistan, Flora of China, Webb & Gornall's monograph of the Saxifrages

Saxifragaceae

Saxifraga sherriffii

by GP Jürgens

Harry Sm.

BhutanPG2011 349
Bhutan Jule-Tso, 4400m June

Description

Saxifraga sherriffii is a narrowly endemic alpine cushion plant known only from Bhutan (BT), where it is represented by a mere handful of records, around six documented occurrences. It is confined to the high alpine and subnival zone, growing on exposed rock ledges, in crevices of cliffs and on stony, well-drained slopes near the limit of vascular plant life. The type material and the plant shown here come from Jule-Tso in Bhutan at 4400 m, flowering in June; the species commemorates the collector George Sherriff, who with Frank Ludlow explored the Bhutanese and southeastern Tibetan mountains, and its extreme rarity reflects both its restricted range and the inaccessibility of its habitat.

The plant forms a small, dense, tufted to cushion-like perennial of woody-based rosettes. The leaves are small, crowded, spathulate to oblong and somewhat fleshy or leathery, frequently bearing chalk-secreting hydathode pits along the margin in the manner of the encrusted saxifrages, and clothed with glandular hairs. The flowering stems are short and glandular-pubescent, carrying few flowers. Each flower has five spreading petals, white to pale yellow and sometimes spotted, set above a half-inferior ovary, with ten stamens; the calyx lobes are reflexed in fruit. The fruit is a two-beaked capsule dehiscing between the divergent styles to release numerous minute seeds.

Saxifraga is a large, predominantly arctic-alpine genus in which the Himalayan high mountains hold many localised endemics. S. sherriffii belongs to the cushion-forming, lime-encrusting assemblage adapted to cold, wind-exposed, nutrient-poor rock habitats, where the compact growth form conserves heat and moisture. Given its tiny known range, very small number of populations and specialised high-alpine niche, this Bhutanese endemic is of considerable conservation interest and potentially vulnerable to climate-driven contraction of suitable habitat.

Author: Harry Sm. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Saxifragaceae of the Himalaya, Saxifraga (Webb & Gornall monograph)

Saxifragaceae

Saxifraga stolitzkae

by GP Jürgens

Duthie ex Engl. & Irmsch.

Nepal 99 595 ergebnis
Nepal Kagmara Phedi 4000m, July
BhutanPG2011 423
Bhutan Warrthang-La 4500m, June

Description

Saxifraga stolitzkae is a high-alpine saxifrage of the Himalaya, recorded from Nepal, India and Bhutan, with around 32 georeferenced occurrences indicating a sparse distribution across the upper ranges. It is a plant of severe high-altitude habitats — open stony slopes, moraine, rock ledges and gravelly ground kept moist by snow-melt — well above treeline. The illustrated material from Kagmara Phedi in Nepal at about 4000 m in July, and from Warrthang-La in Bhutan at around 4500 m in June, places it firmly among the highest-growing Himalayan saxifrages, flowering during the short high-mountain summer as the snow retreats.

The plant is a small perennial herb forming loose tufts or low cushions from a branched rootstock, with crowded rosettes of small, fleshy, oblong to spathulate leaves that are frequently glandular-hairy. The flowering stems are short and often reddish, glandular, bearing one to few flowers. Each flower has five free sepals, five spreading petals — typically yellow, often flecked or flushed with orange or red — and ten stamens. The two largely fused carpels mature into a bilobed capsule that opens between the divergent beaks to release numerous minute seeds, a fruiting structure shared across the genus.

The combination is attributed to Duthie ex Engler and Irmscher, the last two authors of the standard early-twentieth-century monographic treatment of Saxifraga; the species belongs to the assemblage of yellow-flowered, cushion- and rosette-forming Himalayan saxifrages adapted to extreme alpine conditions. Restricted to very high elevations and known from relatively few localities, S. stolitzkae is closely tied to reliable snow-melt moisture and short cool seasons, making it among the species most exposed to the upward shift of climatic zones in the Himalaya, though its remote habitat affords some protection from direct human pressure.

Author: Duthie ex Engl. & Irmsch. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China (Saxifragaceae), Engler & Irmscher: Das Pflanzenreich, Saxifraga monograph

Saxifragaceae

Saxifraga strigosa

by GP Jürgens

Wall. ex Ser.

Bhutan2012 499
Bhutan Pele-La 3100m, September
Bhutan2012 888
Bhutan Ura 3200m, October
Bhutan2012 890
Bhutan Ura 3200m, October

Description

Saxifraga strigosa is a Sino-Himalayan herb distributed through China (including Xizang and Yunnan), Nepal, Bhutan, the Indian Himalaya and northern Myanmar, with several hundred georeferenced records. It occupies cool, damp temperate to subalpine habitats, growing on shaded mossy banks, rock ledges, streamsides and moist forest floors. In Bhutan it has been recorded at Pele-La around 3100 m in September and at Ura near 3200 m in October, its late-season flowering coinciding with the post-monsoon period in well-watered montane terrain.

The plant is a slender annual or short-lived perennial herb with weak, often reddish, strigose-hairy stems that may root at the lower nodes. The basal and lower leaves are petiolate with ovate to orbicular, coarsely toothed or shallowly lobed blades, becoming smaller and sessile upward. The inflorescence is a lax, few- to several-flowered cyme of small flowers on filiform pedicels. Each flower has five spreading, reflexed sepals, five white petals frequently marked with yellow basal spots and reddish dots, ten stamens with clavate filaments, and a bicarpellate ovary that is half-inferior. The fruit is a two-beaked capsule splitting between the divergent styles to release numerous minute seeds.

Saxifraga is a large, predominantly arctic-alpine genus, and S. strigosa belongs to the small-flowered annual element formerly placed in section Diptera (genus Hydatica of some authors). It was described by Seringe from Wallich's collections. Adapted to ephemeral moist microhabitats, it relies on small insects for pollination and on abundant seed for persistence. Common and widespread across the eastern Himalaya, it is of no particular conservation concern.

Author: Wall. ex Ser. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Gornall's classification of Saxifraga (Saxifragaceae)