Author

G & P Jürgens

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis confertiflora

by G & P Jürgens

Prain

Nepal 99 510 ergebnis
West-Nepal Churta-Khola 3800m, June

Description

Pedicularis confertiflora is a hemiparasitic herb of the high Himalaya and Tibetan borderlands, documented by GBIF from China, Nepal, Bhutan, India, Mongolia and Korea, with around 378 occurrences concentrated in the central and eastern alpine zone. It grows in open alpine meadows, moist turf, rocky slopes and the margins of grazed pastures, where it taps the roots of surrounding herbs and grasses. The illustrated population grows in West Nepal at Churta-Khola at about 3800 m, flowering in June; the species generally occupies the 3500-4500 m belt where short-statured alpine vegetation prevails.

The plant forms low, often clustered stems from a slender rootstock, bearing pinnatisect leaves whose narrow segments are deeply incised and toothed, sometimes tinged purple. As the epithet confertiflora implies, the flowers are crowded into a dense, capitate to short-spicate inflorescence near the stem apex, each subtended by a pinnatifid bract. The calyx is tubular and lobed, while the bilabiate corolla, in shades of pink to purplish-red, bears a galeate, often beaked upper lip and a spreading three-lobed lower lip. The capsule is oblique and laterally compressed, releasing few flattened seeds.

The Himalayan species of Pedicularis exhibit remarkable corolla diversity, with beak length and curvature finely adapted to bumblebee pollinators that partition resources among co-flowering taxa; the dense, beaked flowers of P. confertiflora fit this syndrome. As an alpine hemiparasite it can suppress competitive grasses and so shape meadow diversity. No formal threat assessment exists, but its specialised high-elevation habitat is sensitive to climate warming and heavy grazing.

Author: Prain · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Nepal, Flora of China, Pedicularis monograph (Tsoong)

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis diffusa

by G & P Jürgens

Prain

Sikkim2011 197
Sikkim Lachung 3000m, June
Sikkim2011 230
Sikkim Lachung 3000m, June
Sikkim2003 261 P360
Sikkim Dzongri 4200m August
Sikkim2003 273 P376
Sikkim Dzongri 4100m, August

Description

Pedicularis diffusa is a hemiparasitic alpine herb of the eastern Himalaya and adjacent Tibetan region, recorded from China, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Myanmar and Mongolia, with about 92 occurrences in GBIF. It inhabits subalpine and alpine meadows, open grassy slopes, scrub and the margins of forest, typically between about 3000 and 4500 m. The photographed populations come from Sikkim, at Lachung (3000 m, June) and at the high alpine site of Dzongri (4100-4200 m, August), spanning the species' altitudinal range and flowering from early summer into the late monsoon at the higher stations.

The plant forms loose clumps from a fibrous or somewhat thickened rootstock, with ascending to diffusely spreading stems, the habit reflected in the epithet diffusa. The leaves are pinnately divided into oblong, toothed segments and are arranged along the stems as well as basally. The flowers are borne in lax, leafy, often elongate and interrupted racemes; the corolla is pink to purplish-red, two-lipped, with a galea (hooded upper lip) and a broad three-lobed lower lip, the galea typically beaked or toothed at its apex. The fruit is an oblique, laterally compressed capsule containing few seeds.

Like all Pedicularis, the species is a root hemiparasite, photosynthetic but tapping neighbouring plants via haustoria for water and minerals, an adaptation well suited to nutrient-poor alpine turf. The genus is extraordinarily diverse in the Sino-Himalayan mountains, and corolla architecture, particularly the form of the galea and beak, underpins species delimitation. Its tubular two-lipped flowers are adapted to bumblebee pollination. Restricted alpine specialists of this kind are potentially sensitive to climate warming and grazing pressure on high pastures.

Author: Prain · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Pedicularis monograph (Tsoong)

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis flexuosa

by G & P Jürgens

Hook.f.

BhutanPG2011 88
Bhutan Chogcham, 3100m June
Sikkim2003 434 P603
Sikkim Dzongri 4100m, August
Sikkim2003 248 P341
Sikkim Dzongri 4100m, August

Description

Pedicularis flexuosa is an Eastern Himalayan louseword recorded from Nepal, northern India, Bhutan, southwestern China and Mongolia, with around 202 occurrences distributed along the high Himalaya and adjacent Tibetan plateau margins. It spans the upper montane to alpine zone, the images documenting it at Chogcham in Bhutan at about 3100 m in June and at Dzongri in Sikkim at about 4100 m in August during the monsoon. It grows in alpine and subalpine meadow, open grassy slopes, scrub margins and damp turf on moist, well-drained ground, behaving as a hemiparasite drawing water and nutrients from the roots of surrounding grasses and herbs through haustorial connections.

It is an erect perennial herb arising from a short rootstock, with simple or sparingly branched stems that are often somewhat flexuous, as the epithet implies. The leaves are alternate to subopposite and pinnatisect, the segments toothed, giving the characteristic fern-like foliage of the genus. The flowers are borne in a terminal spike or interrupted raceme; the corolla is strongly two-lipped and pinkish-purple to rose, the galea (upper lip) hooded and often beaked, enclosing the four didynamous stamens, while the lower lip is three-lobed and spreading. The fruit is an oblique, laterally compressed capsule containing several seeds.

The species, described by J.D. Hooker, belongs to the large and taxonomically complex genus Pedicularis within the Orobanchaceae, a clade of green root-hemiparasites. The elaborate galeate corolla is adapted to pollination by long-tongued bumblebees, and the diverse corolla architecture across the genus underpins striking floral radiation in the Sino-Himalayan region. Locally frequent in suitable alpine grassland, P. flexuosa has not been formally assessed but is not regarded as threatened across its montane range.

Author: Hook.f. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Pedicularis revision (Sino-Himalayan species, after Tsoong)

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis furfuracea

by G & P Jürgens

Wall. ex Benth.

Pedicularis furfuraceae ergebnis
Bhutan Pele-La, 2800m June
BhutanPG2011 688 01 01 scaled
Bhutan Pele-La, 2800m June

Description

Pedicularis furfuracea is a Himalayan louseword distributed across Nepal, northern India, Bhutan and southwestern China, with around 223 records following the southern slopes of the central and eastern Himalaya. It occupies the temperate to subalpine zone, the image documenting it on the Pele-La in Bhutan at about 2800 m in June. It grows in open forest, forest margins, subalpine scrub, grassy slopes and meadow on moist, humus-rich soils, where, like its congeners, it lives as a facultative root-hemiparasite tapping neighbouring plants for water and minerals while retaining green, photosynthetic foliage.

It is an erect perennial herb with simple or branched stems bearing alternate, pinnately divided leaves whose lobes are toothed, the whole plant often appearing scurfy or mealy, a feature reflected in the epithet furfuracea ("bran-like"). The flowers are crowded in a terminal spike or raceme; the corolla is conspicuously two-lipped and yellow to pale yellow, the galea forming an arched, beaked hood that shelters the four didynamous stamens, with a spreading three-lobed lower lip serving as a landing platform. The calyx is tubular and toothed, and the fruit is an oblique, compressed capsule containing several seeds.

Described by Wallich and Bentham, the species belongs to the immense genus Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae), a hemiparasitic lineage that has radiated spectacularly in the Sino-Himalayan mountains, producing great diversity in corolla form and beak length tied to bumblebee pollination. The yellow galeate flowers of P. furfuracea are visited by long-tongued bees, and its hemiparasitism allows it to thrive in nutrient-limited montane soils. Locally common within its elevational band, it is not considered threatened.

Author: Wall. ex Benth. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Pedicularis revision (Sino-Himalayan species, after Tsoong)

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis gracilis

by G & P Jürgens

Wall. ex Benth.

Bhutan2012 834
Bhutan Trongsa 1850m, October
Bhutan2012 1299
Bhutan Trashigang 1820m, October
Sikkim2003 388 P550
Sikkim Zemu Valley 3300m August

Description

Pedicularis gracilis Wall. ex Benth. is a hemiparasitic herb of the Himalaya and adjacent mountains, occurring across China, Nepal, India, Bhutan, Pakistan and Myanmar. It is recorded from Bhutan at Trongsa and Trashigang between 1820 and 1850 m, flowering in October, and from the Zemu Valley in Sikkim at about 3300 m in August, spanning the warm temperate to subalpine zones. The species grows in open forest, scrub, grassy slopes, meadows and along stream banks, generally between 1500 and 3500 m, where, like all lousewort, it attaches to the roots of neighbouring plants as a facultative root hemiparasite. Its roughly 1008 GBIF records indicate a common and widely distributed species.

The plant is a slender, erect annual or short-lived perennial with a fibrous root system and a tall, sparingly branched stem. The leaves are alternate and pinnatisect, the segments themselves toothed or incised, giving a fern-like aspect. The flowers are borne in a long, lax, leafy-bracted terminal raceme; each has a tubular five-lobed calyx and a two-lipped corolla in pink to rose-purple, the upper lip (galea) hooded and beaked to enclose the four didynamous stamens, the lower lip three-lobed and spreading. The fruit is an obliquely ovoid, beaked capsule containing several seeds.

Pedicularis is one of the largest genera of the Sino-Himalaya, with the region a global centre of its diversity, and the intricate galea forms are closely tied to specialisation upon long-tongued bumblebee pollinators. As a hemiparasite the genus can influence community composition and is sensitive to changes in host vegetation. Being widespread and frequent, P. gracilis is of no particular conservation concern, though it serves as a useful indicator of intact montane grassland and forest-edge habitats.

Author: Wall. ex Benth. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of Nepal, Pedicularis monographs (Prain; Tsoong)

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis gracilis subsp. macrocarpa

by G & P Jürgens

(Prain) P.C.Tsoong

Bhutan2012 1298
Bhutan Trashigang 1900m, October
BhutanPG2011 391
Bhutan Dur Tsa-Chu 3380m, June

Description

Pedicularis gracilis subsp. macrocarpa is a Sino-Himalayan lousewort distributed across southern China, northern India, Nepal and Bhutan, with about 33 documented GBIF occurrences. It occupies open forest, grassy slopes, scrub and meadow margins through a broad temperate to subalpine elevation span. The Bhutanese records illustrate this amplitude well: a population at Trashigang at 1900 m flowering in October and another at the Dur Tsa-Chu at 3380 m flowering in June, indicating tolerance of both warm-temperate forest and high subalpine grassland, on moist, humus-rich and seasonally damp ground.

It is a slender erect perennial herb, the stem often branched and the foliage finely dissected: the leaves are alternate or subopposite, pinnately divided into narrow, serrate segments. The flowers are borne in lax, leafy-bracteate terminal racemes; each has a tubular, toothed calyx and a strongly two-lipped pink to purplish corolla typical of the genus, the galeate upper lip (galea) often beaked or hooded and the spreading three-lobed lower lip forming a landing platform. The four didynamous stamens are concealed within the galea. As the subspecific epithet macrocarpa indicates, the fruit is a comparatively large, laterally compressed, beaked loculicidal capsule containing several seeds.

GBIF treats this name as a synonym while retaining Pedicularis gracilis subsp. macrocarpa as accepted, distinguished from the typical subspecies by its larger fruit. Like all louseworts it is a hemiparasite, drawing water and nutrients from neighbouring roots via haustoria while retaining green foliage. The galeate flowers are pollinated by bumblebees. The taxon is locally distributed but not of conservation concern.

Author: (Prain) P.C.Tsoong · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 18, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, Flora of Nepal, A Monograph of the Genus Pedicularis

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis hoffmeisteri

by G & P Jürgens

Klotzsch

Nepal 99 339 ergebnis
West-Nepal Kalmura 3900m, June
Nepal 99 884 ergebnis
West-Nepal Suli-Khola 2900m, July
Nepal 99 885 ergebnis
West-Nepal Suli-Khola 2900m, July

Description

Pedicularis hoffmeisteri Klotzsch is a hemiparasitic herb distributed across the Sino-Himalayan region, with GBIF documenting some 266 occurrences spanning Nepal (NP), India (IN) and China (CN). It is characteristic of moist alpine and subalpine meadows, open grassy slopes, streamsides and forest margins, where it taps the roots of neighbouring grasses and herbs. The species was photographed in West Nepal at Kalmura at 3900 m in June and at the lower Suli-Khola at 2900 m in July, illustrating its broad altitudinal range from upper temperate forest into the alpine zone.

The plant is a perennial herb arising from a short rootstock, with erect or ascending stems that are often glabrescent below and pubescent in the inflorescence. The leaves are alternate or subverticillate, oblong to lanceolate in outline and pinnatisect, with closely toothed lobes typical of the genus. Flowers are borne in a terminal spike or interrupted raceme, each subtended by a leafy bract; the calyx is tubular and cleft, while the strongly zygomorphic corolla is two-lipped, the upper lip forming a galea that is often beaked and the lower lip three-lobed. The fruit is an obliquely ovoid, laterally compressed loculicidal capsule containing few seeds.

Like other members of Pedicularis, the largest genus in Orobanchaceae, P. hoffmeisteri is a facultative root hemiparasite that retains green photosynthetic tissue while drawing water and nutrients from host roots. Its bumblebee-pollinated galeate flowers reflect the pollinator specialisation that has driven explosive diversification of the genus in the Himalaya and Hengduan Shan. Though not formally assessed, its wide distribution and tolerance of disturbed pasture suggest no immediate conservation concern, though high-elevation populations are sensitive to grazing pressure and climate-driven shifts in the alpine treeline.

Author: Klotzsch · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Nepal, Flora of China, Pedicularis monograph (Prain; Tsoong revision of Asian Pedicularis)

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis hookeriana 

by G & P Jürgens

Wall. ex Benn.

Garw 2005 62 ergebnis ergebnis
India Garhwal Valley of flowers 3400m, September
Garh 07 473 ergebnis
India Garhwal Khiar Kutti 3740m, June

Description

Pedicularis hookeriana Wall. ex Benn. is a hemiparasitic alpine herb distributed across the high Himalaya and adjoining mountains, recorded from Nepal, India, China and Myanmar, with some 61 georeferenced occurrences in GBIF. It inhabits open alpine meadows, moist turf, streamsides and the margins of dwarf-shrub communities, typically between 3300 and 4500 m. The species was documented in the Indian Garhwal Himalaya, both in the celebrated Valley of Flowers at 3400 m in September and at Khiar Kutti at 3740 m in June, the latter coinciding with the early-summer flush of alpine bloom after snowmelt. Like all members of the genus it attaches to the roots of neighbouring graminoids and forbs through haustoria, supplementing its own photosynthesis.

It is a low, often tufted perennial with a thickened rootstock and few erect or ascending stems. The leaves are mostly basal and rosulate, oblong to lanceolate in outline and deeply pinnatisect, the segments incised-dentate and frequently tinged with anthocyanin. The flowers are borne in a short, dense terminal raceme; the calyx is tubular and toothed, while the showy bilabiate corolla is pink to purplish-red, its galea curved and beaked, contrasting with a broad spreading lower lip. The fruit is an obliquely ovoid, somewhat compressed capsule containing several small seeds.

Within the large and taxonomically complex genus Pedicularis, P. hookeriana belongs to the beaked-galea assemblage that radiated extensively across the Sino-Himalayan region, one of the world's principal centres of diversity for the genus. Its long, curved corolla beak is an adaptation to pollination by long-tongued bumblebees, which the flower architecture mechanically guides. Though not formally assessed as threatened, its restriction to fragile alpine turf makes it sensitive to grazing pressure and climate-driven upslope shifts of vegetation belts.

Author: Wall. ex Benn. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of Nepal, Pedicularis monograph (Prain; Tsoong revision of Asian Pedicularis)

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis klotzschii

by G & P Jürgens

Hurus.

Nepal 99 43 ergebnis
West-Nepal Nyor Gaad 2800m, June
Nepal 99 97 ergebnis
West-Nepal South of Rara-Lake 3600m, June

Description

Pedicularis klotzschii is a Himalayan endemic distributed across the western and central Himalaya, with GBIF records (48 occurrences) confined to Nepal (NP) and northern India (IN). It favours moist alpine and subalpine meadows, open grassy slopes, and stream margins, typically between 2800 and 3800 m. The collections illustrated were made in West-Nepal at Nyor Gaad around 2800 m and on the slopes south of Rara Lake at roughly 3600 m, both in June at the onset of the monsoon flowering season. Like all members of the genus it is a hemiparasite, drawing water and nutrients from the roots of neighbouring grasses and forbs through haustorial connections.

It is a perennial herb forming a short, somewhat fleshy rootstock from which arise erect to ascending stems. The leaves are largely radical and cauline, pinnatisect to pinnatipartite with toothed lobes, the surfaces often sparsely pubescent. Flowers are borne in a dense terminal spike or raceme; the calyx is tubular and lobed, while the corolla is strongly two-lipped (bilabiate), the galea (upper lip) arched and frequently beaked, and the lower lip three-lobed and spreading. The androecium comprises four didynamous stamens enclosed within the galea. The fruit is an ovoid, laterally compressed capsule containing several seeds.

Within Pedicularis, an exceptionally species-rich Sino-Himalayan genus, P. klotzschii belongs to the beaked-galea assemblage adapted to long-tongued bumblebee pollination. The genus was transferred from Scrophulariaceae to Orobanchaceae once its hemiparasitic habit and molecular affinities were recognised. Though not formally assessed, its restricted Himalayan range makes it potentially sensitive to grazing and climatic shifts in the alpine zone.

Author: Hurus. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Nepal, Flora of British India, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Tsoong's Monograph of the genus Pedicularis

Orobanchaceae

Pedicularis oederi

by G & P Jürgens

Vahl

Nepal 99 125 ergebnis
West-Nepal South of Rara-Lake 3650m, June
Garh 07 370 ergebnis
Garh 07 516 ergebnis
India Garhwal Khiar Kutti 3800m, June

Description

Pedicularis oederi is a circumboreal and arctic-alpine lousewort with an enormous range encompassing northern Europe, Siberia, the mountains of Central Asia, the Himalaya and arctic North America; GBIF documents over 8600 occurrences across Scandinavia, Russia, China, the Alps, the Himalaya and beyond. It is a plant of moist alpine meadows, snowbed margins, marshy turf and stony slopes, generally between about 3000 and 4500 m in the Himalaya. The image, taken south of Rara Lake in West Nepal at 3650 m and at Khiar Kutti in Garhwal at 3800 m, both in June, shows it flowering in early summer in moist high-alpine grassland where snowmelt sustains its preferred damp, well-lit pastures.

It is a low, tufted perennial herb arising from a short rootstock with fleshy roots. The leaves are mostly basal, forming a rosette, oblong-lanceolate in outline and pinnatisect into numerous closely set, toothed segments, giving a fern-like appearance; stem leaves are few and reduced. The flowers are borne in a dense, oblong terminal spike, the corolla pale yellow and characteristically marked with red or purple on the galea. The corolla is strongly two-lipped: the upper lip forms a beakless, laterally compressed hood (galea) enclosing the four didynamous stamens, the lower lip three-lobed. The fruit is an obliquely ovoid capsule with several seeds.

Like all Pedicularis, this species is hemiparasitic, attaching to the roots of neighbouring alpine plants via haustoria while retaining its own chlorophyll, an adaptation that aids establishment in nutrient-poor cold soils. The genus is exceptionally diverse and speciose in the Sino-Himalayan region, and P. oederi is among its most widely distributed members. It is of no conservation concern, but its dependence on moist, intact alpine meadow communities makes it a useful indicator of high-mountain habitat quality.

Author: Vahl · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China (Orobanchaceae), Flowers of the Himalaya (Polunin & Stainton), Yamazaki revision of Asian Pedicularis