Gentianaceae

Gentianaceae

Megacodon stylophorus

Gentianaceae

Gentiana coronata

Gentianaceae

Exacum teres

Gentianaceae

Gentiana elwesii

Gentianaceae

Gentianaceae

Crawfurdia campanulacea

by GP Jürgens

Wall. & Griff. ex C.B.Clarke

Bhutan2012 1153
Bhutan Tashiyangtse 1850m, October
Bhutan2012 1155
Bhutan Tashiyangtse 1850m, October

Description

Crawfurdia campanulacea is a twining gentian of the eastern Himalaya and adjacent China, distributed from north-eastern India through Bhutan and Bangladesh into Myanmar, Vietnam and south-western China; its roughly 220 georeferenced occurrences (CN, IN, MM, BD, BT, VN) mark it as a regional element of the moist subtropical-to-temperate forest belt. It is a climbing herb of forest margins, thickets, shaded slopes and stream banks, generally between about 1500 and 2800 m, flowering in the autumn. The plant photographed at Tashiyangtse in eastern Bhutan at 1850 m in October illustrates this late-season blooming within humid broad-leaved forest.

It is a perennial herbaceous climber with slender, twining stems scrambling over surrounding vegetation. The leaves are opposite, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, three- to five-nerved and short-petiolate, with entire margins. The conspicuous flowers are solitary or few in the upper axils, the corolla broadly campanulate (bell-shaped, as the epithet records), bluish-purple to violet, with five lobes and small plicate folds in the sinuses typical of the gentian alliance; there are five epipetalous stamens and a superior, stalked (stipitate) ovary. The fruit is a stipitate, ellipsoid capsule containing numerous small, flattened and often winged seeds.

Crawfurdia is a small Asian genus closely allied to Gentiana and Tripterospermum, distinguished by its twining habit and stipitate, winged-seeded capsules; some authors have submerged it within those genera, and its limits remain debated. Adapted to scrambling through forest understorey, C. campanulacea depends on intact woodland and is not regarded as threatened, though it is restricted to undisturbed montane forest across its range.

Author: Wall. & Griff. ex C.B.Clarke · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of India, Ho & Pringle's treatment of Gentianaceae

Gentianaceae

Crawfurdia speciosa

by G & P Jürgens

C.B.Clarke

Bhutan2015 592
Bhutan Mo-Chu 1900m, October
Bhutan2015 594
Bhutan Mo-Chu 1900m, October
Bhutan2012 938 scaled
Bhutan Tumching-La 3200m, October
Bhutan2012 936
Bhutan Tumching-La 3200m, October

Description

Crawfurdia speciosa C.B.Clarke is a climbing perennial gentian of the eastern and central Himalaya, distributed through Nepal, north-east India, Bhutan, south-west China and into northern Vietnam, with scattered records from Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is a plant of moist, shaded temperate forest, scrambling through shrubs and over the herbaceous understorey along forest margins, stream banks and clearings. The two photographed Bhutanese populations bracket its altitudinal span, from the warm Mo-Chu valley at 1900 m to the cool Tumching-La pass at 3200 m, both flowering in October. This autumn flowering, well after the monsoon, is characteristic of the twining Asian gentians and exploits the late-season window before the onset of winter.

Unlike the familiar erect, rosette-forming gentians, Crawfurdia is a slender, herbaceous, twining climber with weak quadrangular stems and opposite, ovate to ovate-lanceolate leaves tapering to an acuminate tip and bearing prominent palmate-curved venation. The flowers, solitary or few in the upper leaf axils, are showy and pendent; the campanulate to tubular corolla is blue to blue-purple, with short spreading lobes and conspicuous plicate folds (plicae) between them, a hallmark of the gentian family. The fruit is a stalked, flattened capsule that protrudes from the persistent corolla on an elongating gynophore, releasing numerous small, winged, wind-dispersed seeds.

The genus Crawfurdia is closely allied to Gentiana and Tripterospermum, and has at times been merged with them; molecular studies confirm the twining Sino-Himalayan gentians as a distinct lineage. The pendent blue corolla suggests pollination by late-season bees. Though not currently regarded as threatened, its dependence on intact mid- to high-elevation forest makes it sensitive to deforestation across its eastern Himalayan range.

Author: C.B.Clarke · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China (Gentianaceae), Flora of Bhutan, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Gentianaceae: Systematics and Natural History (Struwe & Albert)

Gentianaceae

Gentiana capitata

by GP Jürgens

Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don

Garh 07 393 ergebnis
India Garhwal Meggu Kichatti 3200m, June 
Garh 07 420 ergebnis
India Garhwal Khiar Kutti 3900m, June

Description

Gentiana capitata is a Himalayan annual gentian distributed across Nepal, India, Bhutan, China and Pakistan and into Myanmar; GBIF records about 206 occurrences spanning the central and eastern Himalaya. It grows on open alpine and subalpine slopes, grassy meadows, terraced banks and pastures, generally between about 2500 and 4000 m. The photographed plants come from Garhwal, India, at Meggu Kichatti (3200 m) and Khiar Kutti (3900 m), both in June, a setting typical of this small monsoon-season gentian, part of the seasonal herb flora of the western Himalayan high meadows in early summer.

The species is a slender annual with erect, often few-branched, quadrangular stems arising from a fine root system. The leaves are opposite, sessile, ovate to lanceolate, the basal pairs sometimes forming a loose rosette. The flowers are clustered into a dense, head-like or capitate terminal cyme that gives the species its name, sometimes with additional flowers in the upper axils. Each flower has a tubular to funnel-shaped, pale blue to bluish-mauve corolla with five spreading lobes and small plicate folds between them; the calyx is tubular with five teeth. The fruit is a stalked, two-valved capsule releasing numerous minute seeds.

Gentiana capitata Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don belongs to the annual, small-flowered Himalayan section of the genus characterised by capitate inflorescences and plicate corollas. Widespread and locally common across the Himalaya, it tolerates grazed and disturbed ground and is of no conservation concern. As an annual it depends on regular seed production and the brief monsoon season, and it is a familiar component of the high-meadow flora pollinated by insects drawn to its blue flower clusters.

Author: Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Nepal, Halda: The Genus Gentiana

Gentianaceae

Gentiana depressa

by GP Jürgens

D.Don

Nepal 95 367 P653 ergebnis
Nepal Pansing 3150m, October
Nepal 95 368 P654 ergebnis
Nepal Pansing 3150m, October
Nepal 95 420 P733 ergebnis
Nepal Pansing 3150m, October

Description

Gentiana depressa is a cushion-forming alpine gentian of the Himalaya, native to Nepal, India, China and Bhutan, the c. 301 georeferenced records tracing a range across the central and eastern high ranges. It grows in open alpine turf, on grassy and stony slopes, banks and amongst dwarf shrubs, generally between about 3000 and 4500 m, and is a notable autumn-flowering species. The plant was photographed at Pansing in Nepal at 3150 m in October, a season and elevation typical of the species, which produces its broad flowers late in the year as the surrounding herbage senesces.

It is a low, prostrate perennial forming dense mats, with creeping, much-branched stems clothed in crowded, small, ovate to elliptic leaves arranged in tight rosettes and overlapping pairs. The flowers are large relative to the plant and sit terminally, almost sessile within the leaf cluster, depressing the foliage around them (depressa). The corolla is broadly campanulate to funnel-shaped, pale greenish-yellow to whitish or sky-blue, conspicuously speckled and streaked within, with five short lobes separated by small plicate folds (plicae). The calyx is tubular and five-toothed; the fruit is a many-seeded capsule, often on a short stipe, releasing fine winged seeds.

Gentiana (tribe Gentianeae) is divided into numerous sections, and G. depressa belongs to the Himalayan autumnal cushion gentians of section Frigida and allies, distinguished by their plicate corollas and prostrate, mat-forming habit. The broad pale flowers borne flat against ground level are an adaptation to the cold, wind-exposed late-season alpine environment, maximising warmth for the developing capsule. Widespread and locally common across its range, the species is not regarded as threatened, though specialised cushion-formers are sensitive to trampling and climatic warming.

Author: D.Don · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Ho & Liu monograph of Gentiana

Gentianaceae

Gentiana loureiroi

by G & P Jürgens

(G.Don) Griseb.

Bhutan2014 670
Bhutan Phobjika 2900m, May
Bhutan2014 671
Bhutan Phobjika 2900m, May

Description

Gentiana loureiroi is a small Asian gentian distributed from China and Hong Kong through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar to India and Bhutan, with more than 500 GBIF records making it one of the better-documented species in this account. It is a plant of open grassy places, pasture, roadside banks and moist montane meadows, generally in the lower and middle montane belt. The collection from Phobjika in central Bhutan at about 2900 m, flowering in May, typifies its occurrence in damp, short-turf glacial-valley grasslands where it appears early in the season among grazed sward.

The plant is a low, slender annual or short-lived perennial with prostrate to ascending, often branched stems forming small mats or tufts. The leaves are small, opposite, ovate to elliptic, sessile, with cartilaginous margins, the basal ones frequently forming a loose rosette. The flowers are solitary and terminal on the branchlets, with a tubular calyx of five lobes and a funnelform to salverform corolla that is typically blue to violet-blue, the five spreading lobes alternating with smaller plicate folds in the sinuses. The fruit is a stipitate capsule projecting from the withered corolla and releasing numerous minute seeds.

Described by G. Don and combined in Gentiana by Grisebach, G. loureiroi belongs to the largely small-flowered annual section of the genus characteristic of disturbed and grazed montane grassland. Its wide geographic and elevational range, tolerance of human-modified habitats and prolific seed production make it ecologically resilient and of least conservation concern across its extensive distribution.

Author: (G.Don) Griseb. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Ho & Pringle's account of Gentiana

Gentianaceae

Gentiana maeulchanensis

by GP Jürgens

Franch.

Bh2008 446 G697
Bhutan Gogona, 3400m April
BH2008 537 G815
Bhutan Limbukha, 2200m April
Bh2008 538 P816
Bhutan Limbukha, 2200m April

Description

Gentiana maeulchanensis is a small annual or biennial gentian of the eastern Himalaya and adjacent China, known from a comparatively modest 60 records spanning China, Bhutan, India and Myanmar. It occupies open meadows, grassy banks, terraced field margins and moist disturbed ground, generally between 2000 and 3600 m, flowering early in the season before the monsoon. The illustrated plants were collected in Bhutan at Gogona (3400 m) and at Limbukha (2200 m), both in April, the latter site lying among the lower cultivated valleys where the species descends to its altitudinal minimum.

The plant is a slender, often branched herb a few centimetres to about 20 cm tall, with a basal rosette and small opposite cauline leaves that are ovate to spathulate with cartilaginous, often whitish margins. The flowers are solitary and terminal or borne in lax cymes; the calyx is tubular with a membranous keel and unequal lobes. The corolla is funnelform to campanulate, blue to pale violet, with five spreading lobes alternating with shorter, fringed or toothed plicae in the sinuses, a defining feature of the section. The capsule is exserted on a stipe at maturity and releases numerous minute seeds.

The species belongs to the predominantly annual Himalayan-Chinese assemblage of small gentians, where it is distinguished by its plical fringing and early phenology. Such early flowering exploits the brief window before competing monsoon vegetation, and the flowers are pollinated by early-emerging insects. With a restricted but stable distribution, it has not been assessed but warrants attention where its lower-elevation habitats are subject to agricultural change.

Author: Franch. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Ho & Liu monograph of Gentiana

Gentianaceae

Gentiana micans

by G & P Jürgens

C.B.Clarke

Sikkim2003 526 P734
Sikkim Yume Samdong 4600m August

Description

Gentiana micans is an alpine gentian of the eastern and central Himalaya, with GBIF occurrences spanning southwest China, Bhutan, India and Nepal. It is a characteristic component of moist alpine meadow, seepage slopes and short turf above the treeline, generally between 3,500 and 4,800 m. The illustrated plant was recorded at Yume Samdong in northern Sikkim at about 4,600 m in August, coinciding with the late-monsoon flowering peak when these gentians carpet the high pastures alongside Primula, Pedicularis and Saxifraga.

The species is a small annual or short-lived herb with slender, ascending to erect stems often branching from the base and frequently tinged purple. The leaves are small, sessile, ovate to lanceolate and arranged in opposite pairs. The flowers are solitary and terminal on the branchlets, with a tubular to narrowly campanulate corolla that is brilliant deep blue, the five lobes spreading and separated by small plicate folds; the calyx is tubular with narrow teeth. The fruit is a stalked, two-valved capsule containing numerous minute seeds adapted to wind dispersal.

Gentiana micans belongs to the species-rich Himalayan assemblage of small annual gentians (section Chondrophyllae and allies), a group whose delicate taxonomy rests on corolla, calyx and seed characters. Though individually inconspicuous, these annuals are ecologically important early colonisers of disturbed and grazed alpine ground. The taxon is widespread and not considered threatened, but its meadow habitats are sensitive to overgrazing and to the shifting precipitation regimes of the monsoonal high Himalaya.

Author: C.B.Clarke · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China Vol. 16 (Gentianaceae), Grierson & Long: Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, Ho & Liu: A Worldwide Monograph of Gentiana

Gentianaceae

Gentiana micantiformis

by G & P Jürgens

Burkill

Sikkim2011 105
Sikkim Chopta-valley 4200m, June
Bhutan2014 908
Bhutan Chele-La 3700m, May

Description

Gentiana micantiformis Burkill is a diminutive alpine gentian of the high Sino-Himalaya, recorded from China, Nepal, Bhutan, India and Japan (gbif_countries: CN, NP, BT, IN, JP) with a modest 59 occurrences in GBIF, reflecting both its small stature and restricted high-elevation range. It inhabits short alpine turf, open stony slopes, moist meadows and the margins of snow-melt flushes, generally between about 3500 and 4500 m. The image data, from the Chopta valley in Sikkim at 4200 m in June and Chele-La in western Bhutan at 3700 m in May, place it firmly in the early-season alpine zone where it flowers as the snow recedes.

It is a small annual or short-lived herb forming low tufts, with slender, often branched stems. The leaves are small, opposite, ovate to oblong and crowded toward the base, frequently with cartilaginous mucronate tips and white membranous margins. The flowers are solitary or few at the stem apices, with a tubular-campanulate, lobed calyx and a tubular-funnelform corolla that is blue to pale blue-violet, the lobes alternating with smaller plicate folds (plicae) characteristic of section Chondrophyllae. The capsule is stipitate and many-seeded, dehiscing to release minute seeds.

Gentiana section Chondrophyllae comprises numerous small annual Asian gentians whose delimitation is notoriously difficult, and the epithet signals close affinity with G. micans. Flowers open in bright sun and close in cold or cloud, a heliotropic adaptation typical of high-alpine gentians and aiding warmth-dependent insect pollination. Although nowhere abundant, the species is widely scattered across the high ranges and is not regarded as threatened.

Author: Burkill · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China (Gentianaceae), Flora of Bhutan, Ho & Liu monograph A Worldwide Monograph of Gentiana

Gentianaceae

Gentiana nubigena

by GP Jürgens

Edgew.

Sikkim2003 515 G715
Sikkim Yume Samdong 4600m August
Sikkim2003 514 P714
Sikkim Yume Samdong 4600m August

Description

Gentiana nubigena is a high-alpine gentian of the Himalaya and the Tibetan plateau, recorded from China, Nepal, India, Bhutan and Pakistan, with GBIF documenting around 330 occurrences. It inhabits cold alpine meadows, gravelly slopes, screes, moraine and damp turf in the upper alpine and subnival zones, typically from about 4000 to 5000 m. The photographed plant was found in Sikkim at Yume Samdong at 4600 m in August, flowering at the height of the brief alpine summer; the epithet "nubigena," meaning cloud-born, aptly evokes its habitat in the mist-shrouded high pastures.

The plant is a small, tufted perennial herb forming low rosettes from a short rootstock, with several short ascending flowering stems. The basal leaves are crowded, linear-lanceolate to oblong and somewhat fleshy; the stem leaves are smaller and opposite. The flowers are solitary or few at the stem tips, comparatively large; the corolla is funnelform to narrowly campanulate, pale blue to whitish with darker greenish or blue-spotted bands externally, the five lobes separated by shorter plicate folds (plicae) characteristic of the genus. There are five included stamens and a superior ovary that matures into a stipitate, two-valved capsule releasing numerous small seeds.

The species belongs to genus Gentiana (Gentianaceae), within the large complex of Sino-Himalayan autumn-flowering alpine gentians (section Frigida and allies). Adapted to intense cold, high irradiance and a short growing season, it is a characteristic component of the highest vegetated zones. It is not regarded as threatened given its extensive remote range, but as a strict high-alpine specialist it is sensitive to warming-driven upslope compression of subnival habitats.

Author: Edgew. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Nepal, Flowers of the Himalaya (Polunin & Stainton), monograph of Gentiana (Ho & Liu)

Gentianaceae

Gentiana oreodoxa

by G & P Jürgens

Harry Sm.

Bhutan2015 660
Bhutan Chele-La 4000m, October
Bhutan2015 662
Bhutan Chele-La 4000m, October
Bhutan2012 280
Bhutan Shele-La, 4100m September

Description

Gentiana oreodoxa is an eastern Himalayan and southwest Chinese alpine gentian recorded from China, Myanmar, Bhutan and India, a comparatively narrow distribution reflected in its modest GBIF tally of about 81 occurrences. It grows in alpine turf, open grassy slopes and rocky meadows of the high mountains, characteristically at and above 4000 m. The plants photographed at Chele-La (about 4000 m, October) and Shele-La (about 4100 m, September) in Bhutan exemplify its preference for short alpine grassland near the upper passes, where it flowers late in the season as autumn approaches.

The species is a small tufted perennial with a short rootstock giving rise to clustered, prostrate to ascending flowering stems and basal rosettes. The leaves are small, narrowly elliptic to oblanceolate, leathery and densely imbricate below, with cartilaginous-thickened margins. The flowers are solitary or few at the stem tips, the campanulate to narrowly funnel-shaped corolla deep blue with plicate folds (plicae) between the lobes, the calyx tubular with short teeth. The fruit is a stalked, bivalved capsule releasing numerous small seeds.

Gentiana oreodoxa belongs to the large autumn-flowering assemblage of dwarf alpine gentians (section Frigida and allies) that dominate the high turf of the Sino-Himalaya. These plants are well adapted to short growing seasons and intense radiation, opening their corollas in sunshine and closing in cold or cloud. With a restricted eastern Himalayan range it is a regional specialist; though not formally assessed as threatened, its confinement to high alpine habitats makes it a useful indicator of montane ecosystem integrity under a warming climate.

Author: Harry Sm. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal, Ho & Liu monograph of Gentiana