Brassicaceae

Brassicaceae

Aphragmus oxycarpus

Brassicaceae

Cardamine griffithii

Brassicaceae

Cardamine pulchella

Brassicaceae

Cardamine elegantula

Brassicaceae

Brassicaceae

Draba bhutanica

by GP Jürgens

H.Hara 

BhutanPG2011 418
Bhutan Ludlow-Sherriff-Trail Warrtlang-La, 4400m June

Description

Draba bhutanica H.Hara is a narrowly distributed alpine crucifer recorded only from Bhutan and adjacent China (gbif_countries: BT, CN), with a mere 13 occurrences in GBIF, marking it as a rare Eastern Himalayan high-mountain endemic. It occupies the upper alpine zone, growing on open stony slopes, scree, gravelly ridges and rock crevices near the limits of vascular plant life. The image record from the Ludlow-Sherriff Trail at Warrtlang-La in Bhutan at 4400 m, in June, situates it in the early-summer high alpine, where short-statured perennials flower briefly after snowmelt on exposed, well-drained ground.

It is a small, low, tufted or cushion-forming perennial herb, typically clothed in the branched, stellate or forked trichomes characteristic of the genus, giving a greyish indumentum. The leaves are small, entire to slightly toothed, crowded into basal rosettes. The flowering scapes are short and bear few-flowered terminal racemes. The flowers conform to the cruciferous plan, with four sepals, four clawed yellow (or whitish) petals in a cross, and tetradynamous stamens. The fruit is a small silicula, ovate to elliptic and somewhat flattened, dehiscing by two valves to release several seeds.

Draba is a large, predominantly arctic-alpine genus, and its Sino-Himalayan species are taxonomically intricate; D. bhutanica has been associated with the segregate Chrysobraya, reflecting unsettled generic limits in the region. Its cushion habit and dense indumentum are classic adaptations to cold, high-radiation, desiccating alpine environments. Given its extremely restricted range and few records, the species is of considerable conservation and biogeographic interest as a Bhutanese alpine endemic.

Author: H.Hara · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China (Brassicaceae), Flora of Bhutan, Al-Shehbaz systematic studies of Himalayan Draba and Cruciferae

Brassicaceae

Draba gracillima

by GP Jürgens

Hook.f. & Thomson

Bh09 156 G278
Bhutan Labana 4130m, June

Description

Draba gracillima is a slender alpine whitlow-grass of the Himalaya, distributed across the Indian Himalaya, Nepal, south-central China (Xizang) and Bhutan, with around one hundred and twenty-six GBIF records reflecting a continuous high-mountain range. It occupies alpine meadows, stony slopes, rock ledges, screes and crevices above the treeline, generally between about 3500 and 4500 m. The photographed plant from Labana in Bhutan at 4130 m, flowering in June, typifies its early-summer flowering and its preference for the open, well-drained mineral soils of the upper alpine zone.

The species is a slender, tufted perennial arising from a branched caudex and forming small basal rosettes of leaves, the lamina narrowly oblanceolate to spathulate and clothed, as is typical of Draba, in simple, forked and stellate hairs. The flowering stems are filiform and few-leaved, giving the plant its delicate, gracile appearance. The inflorescence is a lax raceme of small flowers with four free yellow (fading whitish) petals in the cruciferous arrangement and six tetradynamous stamens. The fruit is a small, flattened, lanceolate to elliptic silicula on a slender pedicel, dehiscing to release several seeds per locule.

Draba gracillima is an accepted species of the large genus Draba (Brassicaceae, tribe Arabideae), one of the most species-rich and taxonomically intricate genera of arctic and alpine regions, characterised by variable trichome morphology of diagnostic value. Its cushion-forming caudex, dense indumentum and short silicula are adaptations to cold, wind-exposed, high-radiation alpine habitats. The species is widespread and not regarded as threatened, although its specialised high-altitude niche is sensitive to climate-driven range shifts.

Author: Hook.f. & Thomson · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Jordal & Al-Shehbaz revision of Draba (Brassicaceae monograph)

Brassicaceae

Draba oariocarpa

by GP Jürgens

O.E.Schulz

BhutanPG2011 656
Bhutan Thitha-Tso 4360m, July

Description

Draba oariocarpa is a high-alpine crucifer of the eastern Himalaya, known principally from Bhutan and adjoining areas, where GBIF holds only a single occurrence record, reflecting both its narrow distribution and its remote habitat. It is a plant of open alpine screes, stony slopes, moraines and frost-disturbed gravels of the upper alpine and subnival zones, generally above 4000 m. The photograph from the Thitha Tso in Bhutan at about 4360 m in July shows the species flowering in the brief high-summer window in its harsh, exposed lakeside scree habitat.

The plant is a small, tufted or cushion-forming perennial arising from a branched caudex topped by rosettes of leaves. The leaves are small, oblong to spathulate, entire or nearly so, and clothed in the stellate and simple hairs characteristic of the genus, giving a greyish, roughened texture. From the rosettes arise short, leafless or few-leaved scapes bearing a compact raceme of small flowers; these have four sepals and four yellow (sometimes fading whitish) petals in the cruciform arrangement typical of the Brassicaceae, with six stamens. The fruit, alluded to in the epithet oariocarpa (egg-fruited), is a small, ovate to elliptic, somewhat flattened silicula containing several seeds.

Draba is a very large, predominantly arctic-alpine genus of the Brassicaceae, taxonomically intricate owing to widespread polyploidy, apomixis and minor morphological differentiation, so that many narrowly defined species and synonyms have been described from the Himalaya and Tibet. The dwarf cushion habit and dense indumentum are classic adaptations to the cold, desiccating and intensely irradiated subnival environment. Given its apparently very restricted range and few documented collections, D. oariocarpa is poorly known and warrants further field assessment of its distribution and status.

Author: O.E.Schulz · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Al-Shehbaz's systematic studies of Draba and the Brassicaceae

Brassicaceae

Draba oreades 

by G & P Jürgens

Schrenk

Nepal 99 656 ergebnis
West-Nepal, Kagmara-La, July

Description

Draba oreades is a circum-Asian alpine crucifer with a wide range across the mountains of Central Asia and the Himalaya into Siberia and Mongolia; GBIF records nearly 1200 occurrences spanning China, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and beyond. It is a true alpine, growing on stony slopes, screes, moraines, rock ledges and gravelly alpine turf, generally above 3500 m and ascending well beyond 4500 m. The photograph from the Kagmara-La in West Nepal in July depicts it flowering in midsummer on a high Himalayan pass, the brief window when these cold-desert and alpine habitats become accessible to its yellow-flowered cushions.

It is a small, tufted or cushion-forming perennial herb arising from a branched, often woody caudex clothed in persistent old leaves. The leaves are mostly in dense basal rosettes, oblong to oblanceolate or spathulate, entire, and covered with stellate and simple hairs giving a greyish, scabrid texture. The flowering stems are short, leafless or few-leaved and bear compact corymbose racemes that elongate in fruit. Flowers are small with four bright yellow petals, fading paler. The fruit is a short, ovate to oblong-elliptic silicula, somewhat compressed and often twisted or hairy, containing several small seeds in two rows.

Draba is a large and notoriously complex genus of cold and high-mountain regions, and D. oreades belongs to the yellow-flowered, cushion-forming alpine assemblage adapted to short seasons, intense radiation and frost. Such compact, taprooted, densely hairy growth forms are classic alpine convergences conserving heat and moisture. The species is widespread and not threatened, serving as a characteristic pioneer of unstable high-elevation substrates throughout the Asian highlands.

Author: Schrenk · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China (Brassicaceae), Flora of Pakistan, Jordal & Al-Shehbaz studies of Draba

Brassicaceae

Draba radicans

by G & P Jürgens

Royle

Garh 07 354 ergebnis
Garh 07 355 ergebnis
India Garhwal Dohdi-Tal 3400m, June

Description

Draba radicans is a high-alpine crucifer of the Himalayan chain, with GBIF documenting 55 occurrences from Nepal, India and Bhutan. It is a plant of the upper subalpine to alpine zone, growing among rocks, screes, moist turf and the margins of snowmelt flushes where competition from taller vegetation is slight. The image was taken at Dohdi-Tal in Garhwal, India, at about 3400 m in June, when receding snow exposes the open stony slopes and the rosettes come into flower at the start of the brief alpine growing season.

It is a small perennial herb forming low rosettes or loose mats from a slender taproot and branching caudex, the specific epithet radicans alluding to its tendency to root and spread at the base. The leaves are mostly basal, oblanceolate to spathulate, entire or obscurely toothed, and clothed in simple, forked and stellate hairs characteristic of the genus. The flowering stems are short and often leafless or few-leaved, bearing a short raceme of small flowers with four yellow (fading whitish) petals, four sepals and the tetradynamous stamens of the family. The fruit is a flattened, oblong to elliptic silicula on a short pedicel, containing several small seeds.

Draba (Brassicaceae) is one of the largest genera of arctic and alpine plants, with numerous narrowly distributed Himalayan species whose delimitation rests on trichome type and fruit shape. D. radicans is part of the diverse Himalayan alpine Draba assemblage, an element sensitive to climatic warming and the upward retreat of snowbeds. Though not formally assessed, its restriction to cold high-elevation habitats makes such alpine specialists of conservation interest as indicators of mountain ecosystem change.

Author: Royle · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Pakistan, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Jafri's Flora of West Pakistan (Brassicaceae), Schulz monograph of Draba

Brassicaceae

Draba tibetica

by GP Jürgens

Hook.f. & Thomson

Sikkim2004 139 P241
Sikkim/India Singalila 3800m April

Description

Draba tibetica is a cushion- to mat-forming alpine crucifer with a wide distribution across the Himalaya, Tibetan Plateau and the mountains of Central Asia. GBIF records around 173 occurrences spanning India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Nepal. It colonises stony alpine turf, rock ledges, fellfield and the gravelly margins of seasonal snowmelt, generally between 3500 and 5000 m. The illustrated population was found along the Singalila ridge of Sikkim, India, at 3800 m in April, flowering early as the higher slopes begin to thaw on well-drained, base-rich substrates.

The plant develops a woody, much-branched caudex bearing dense rosettes of small, oblanceolate to spathulate leaves clothed in stellate and simple hairs that give a greyish indumentum. Erect, leafless or few-leaved scapes rise above the foliage carrying short racemes of small flowers. The four petals are yellow, fading paler with age, exceeding the hairy sepals; the six tetradynamous stamens surround a superior ovary. The fruit is a flattened, ovate to elliptic silicula, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, held on ascending pedicels and splitting to release numerous minute seeds in two rows.

Draba (Brassicaceae) is a large, taxonomically intricate genus centred on arctic and alpine habitats, and D. tibetica belongs to the yellow-flowered Himalayan-Tibetan assemblage where cushion habit and indumentum vary clinally, complicating delimitation. GBIF treats the name as accepted. As a hardy pioneer of unstable high-altitude ground it is locally common and faces no recognised conservation concern across its extensive range.

Author: Hook.f. & Thomson · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Pakistan, Al-Shehbaz revisions of Draba (Brassicaceae)

Brassicaceae

Erysimum benthamii

by G & P Jürgens

Monnet

Nepal 2009 88 ergebnis
Nepal Helambu Bolgoau 2050, May

Description

Erysimum benthamii is a Himalayan crucifer recorded from China, Nepal, Bhutan and India, with over 230 georeferenced occurrences spanning the central and eastern Himalaya. It favours open, sunny situations on dry banks, stony slopes, forest clearings and disturbed ground in the temperate and subalpine zones. The plant illustrated from Helambu at Bolgaon (about 2050 m) in Nepal in May reflects its typical mid-elevation habitat, where it flowers in spring on well-drained, often rocky or gravelly soils along trails and open hillsides.

It is an erect biennial or short-lived perennial herb covered, like most members of the genus, in appressed medifixed (malpighiaceous) two- to several-branched hairs that give the foliage a greyish cast. The stem is simple or branched above and bears narrowly lanceolate to linear, entire or remotely denticulate leaves. The flowers are arranged in elongating terminal racemes; the four sepals are erect, and the four clawed petals are bright yellow to orange-yellow in the cruciform arrangement typical of Brassicaceae. The fruit is a long, slender, four-angled silique held more or less erect on a short pedicel, splitting at maturity to release two rows of small seeds.

Erysimum is a large Holarctic genus whose Himalayan representatives are taxonomically intricate, distinguished by trichome branching, fruit shape and indumentum density; E. benthamii is set apart by these vegetative and silique characters. The presence of an indeterminate-country record (coded ZZ) reflects imprecise georeferencing rather than any disjunct range. Widespread and tolerant of disturbance, the species is of least conservation concern.

Author: Monnet · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Nepal, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Polatschek's revisions of Erysimum

Brassicaceae

Erysimum pachycarpum

by G & P Jürgens

Hook.f. & Thomson

Nepal 2009 88 ergebnis
Nepal Samthang 2410m, May

Description

Erysimum pachycarpum is a Himalayan wallflower distributed across Nepal, Bhutan, northern India, and extending into southwestern China (Tibet, Yunnan). GBIF documents 39 occurrences from these countries. The species inhabits dry rocky slopes, open scrubland, disturbed ground along trails, and stony riverbanks in the warm to cool temperate zone, at elevations from approximately 1,800 to 3,500 m. The photograph from Samthang in Nepal at 2,410 m, taken in May, shows the species at a mid-elevation site during its spring flowering period.
The plant is a biennial or short-lived perennial herb, 20–60 cm tall, with erect, usually unbranched stems covered in appressed, medifixed (malpighian) trichomes characteristic of the genus. Basal leaves are oblanceolate, 3–8 cm long, with entire to sinuate-dentate margins, forming a rosette that may wither at flowering; cauline leaves are narrowly lanceolate, sessile, progressively smaller upward. The inflorescence is a dense, terminal raceme that elongates considerably in fruit. Flowers are tetramerous with yellow petals, 8–12 mm long, spatulate, clawed. Stamens six, tetradynamous. The silique is stout and thick-walled — hence the epithet pachycarpum (thick-fruited) — erect to slightly spreading, 3–6 cm long, quadrangular in cross-section, densely covered with appressed trichomes. Seeds are oblong, narrowly winged.
Erysimum pachycarpum is distinguished from other Himalayan Erysimum species primarily by its robust, thickened siliques and relatively large flowers. The genus Erysimum is taxonomically challenging due to frequent hybridisation and subtle morphological boundaries between species, and molecular studies are ongoing to resolve relationships within the Himalayan clade. The species is not currently assessed as threatened and appears locally common in suitable open, dry habitats across its range.

Author: Hook.f. & Thomson · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 8, Grierson & Long: Flora of Bhutan Vol. 1

Brassicaceae

Erysimum robustum

by G & P Jürgens

D.Don

Nepal 99 423 ergebnis
Nepal Talphi 2830m, July
Nepal 99 72 ergebnis
Nepal Chauta-valley, 2800m, July

Description

Erysimum robustum is a Himalayan wallflower distributed through Nepal, northern India and SW China (Xizang and Yunnan), as reflected in the GBIF country records (NP, IN, CN) and some 89 occurrences. The plants illustrated here were photographed in western Nepal at Talphi (c. 2,830 m) and in the Chauta valley (c. 2,800 m) in July. It is a montane to subalpine species favouring open, well-drained sites: stony pastures, dry slopes, roadside banks and the margins of cultivation, generally between 2,500 and 3,800 m, where it forms conspicuous yellow-flowered stands during the summer monsoon. The GBIF backbone treats the name as a synonym, but it is here regarded as the accepted name Erysimum robustum following regional floristic usage.

It is a biennial or short-lived perennial herb with an erect, robust, often branched stem clothed, like the rest of the plant, in appressed two- to several-rayed malpighiaceous hairs that give a greyish cast. The leaves are linear to oblanceolate, entire to remotely denticulate, the lower ones petiolate and the upper sessile. The inflorescence is an elongating ebracteate raceme of bright yellow flowers with four clawed petals in the cruciferous pattern and tetradynamous stamens. The fruit is a long, narrow, four-angled siliqua, somewhat torulose and ascending on a stout pedicel, containing a single row of oblong seeds in each locule.

The genus Erysimum is taxonomically difficult owing to extensive variation in indumentum and habit, and several Himalayan entities have been variously lumped or split; trichome branching patterns and siliqua characters remain the most reliable diagnostic features. As a widespread, weedy-tolerant species of disturbed montane ground, E. robustum is not of conservation concern and can act as an early colonist of bare slopes.

Author: D.Don · Sources: POWO (Kew), Flora of China Vol. 8, Flora of Nepal, GBIF, Polatschek: Revision der Gattung Erysimum

Brassicaceae

Eutrema heterophyllum

by G & P Jürgens

(W.W.Sm.) H.Hara

BhutanPG2011 656 ergebnis
Bhutan Thitha-Tso 4360m,July

Description

Eutrema heterophyllum is an alpine crucifer of the high mountains of central Asia and the Himalaya, recorded from China, Nepal, Bhutan, Japan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, with GBIF logging 226 occurrences. It grows on open alpine slopes, damp gravelly flats, screes and the moist margins of glacial lakes and snowmelt rills. The photographed plant comes from Thitha Tso in Bhutan at about 4360 m, flowering in July, a cold, high-elevation lakeside habitat typical of the species' upper-alpine preference.

It is a small, glabrous perennial or biennial herb arising from a slender rootstock, with one or more ascending stems. As the epithet heterophyllum signals, the foliage is variable: basal leaves are often petiolate and entire to lobed, while the cauline leaves differ in shape and become smaller upward. The flowers are borne in a terminal raceme, small, with four white petals in the cruciferous cross arrangement and six tetradynamous stamens. The fruit is a slender, somewhat flattened silique containing the seeds in a single row.

The taxon is accepted, having been transferred to Eutrema by H. Hara from W.W. Smith's original placement. Eutrema, the genus of wasabi, has been substantially recircumscribed by molecular work that drew in numerous small alpine Sino-Himalayan species formerly scattered among other crucifer genera. As a cold-adapted, broadly distributed high-altitude herb it exemplifies the central-Asian alpine element of the Himalayan flora and is unlikely to be threatened, though dependent on intact periglacial habitats.

Author: (W.W.Sm.) H.Hara · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Al-Shehbaz's systematic studies of Brassicaceae