Tag:

Alpine (>3500 m)

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

Gentianaceae

Gentiana sikkimensis

by G & P Jürgens

C.B.Clarke

Bhutan2012 913
Bhutan Tumching-La 4100m, October

Description

Gentiana sikkimensis is an eastern Himalayan and Sino-Himalayan gentian recorded from China, India, Nepal and Bhutan, with nearly 200 georeferenced occurrences in GBIF. It is a characteristic plant of alpine turf, open moist meadows and the margins of dwarf-shrub heath in the high mountains, generally between about 3500 and 4500 m. The illustrated plant from Tumching-La in Bhutan at 4100 m, flowering in October, reflects the genus's late autumnal flowering, when these small gentians colour the alpine sward after the main summer bloom has passed.

It is a small tufted perennial herb with a short caudex and slender, ascending to decumbent flowering stems. The basal leaves form a rosette and are narrowly oblong to spathulate, while the cauline leaves are smaller, opposite and sessile, with cartilaginous margins. The flowers are solitary or few in terminal clusters, the campanulate to narrowly funnelform corolla deep blue with paler longitudinal bands and bearing well-developed plicae (folds) between the lobes. The calyx is tubular with unequal lobes, and the fruit is a stipitate, two-valved capsule releasing numerous small seeds.

The species belongs to Gentiana section Frigida (or allied sections of the autumn-flowering Asian gentians), a group much diversified across the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its margins. It is widespread and not regarded as threatened, although alpine gentians of this kind are sensitive to overgrazing and to the upward shift of vegetation belts under a warming climate, making long-term monitoring of high-elevation populations worthwhile.

Author: C.B.Clarke · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan, Flora of China, Ho & Pringle monograph of Gentiana

Gentianaceae

Gentiana simulatrix

by GP Jürgens

C.Marquand

Sikkim2004 286 G499 ergebnis
Sikkim/India Dzongri 3900m May

Description

Gentiana simulatrix is an alpine gentian of the eastern Himalaya and adjacent China, with GBIF records concentrated in south-central China (Xizang, Yunnan) and Bhutan, and extending into Sikkim in the Indian Himalaya; the roughly forty-three documented occurrences indicate a localised but reasonably collected high-altitude range. It inhabits open alpine turf, moist pastures, stony slopes and seepage margins above the treeline. The illustrated plant from Dzongri in Sikkim at about 3900 m, flowering in May, exemplifies its spring-to-early-summer phenology in the upper alpine zone, where it emerges as snowmelt exposes the short-cropped sward.

The species is a small tufted perennial with a slender rootstock giving rise to numerous decumbent to ascending leafy shoots. The leaves are small, opposite, ovate to oblong and somewhat fleshy, forming dense basal and cauline pairs. The flowers are solitary and terminal or few in the upper axils; the calyx is tubular with narrow lobes, and the corolla is campanulate to narrowly funnelform, blue to deep azure with darker stripes and conspicuous plicae (folds) between the lobes. The capsule is stipitate within the persistent corolla and releases numerous small seeds.

Gentiana simulatrix belongs to the genus Gentiana (Gentianaceae) and is an accepted species, placed among the small-flowered alpine gentians of section Chondrophyllae, a critical complex where it has been confused with allied taxa such as G. prolata. Its cushion-forming habit, fused corolla plicae and protective floral folds are adaptations to the cold, windy, high-radiation alpine environment. No formal IUCN status has been published, but its dependence on intact alpine grassland makes it sensitive to overgrazing and climate-driven upslope shifts.

Author: C.Marquand · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Ho & Liu monograph of the genus Gentiana

Gentianaceae

Gentiana stipitata

by G & P Jürgens

Edgew.

Garw 2005 356 ergebnis
India Garhwal Baganathi 3900m, September

Description

Gentiana stipitata Edgew. is a small alpine gentian endemic to the Sino-Himalayan region. GBIF data (some 239 occurrences) place it across the high mountains of China, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Taiwan, where it inhabits alpine and subalpine meadows, open turf, moist grassy slopes and the margins of seasonal snow-melt flushes. It is a plant of high elevations, typically between 3,000 and 4,500 m. The individual photographed at Baganathi in Garhwal (NW India) at 3,900 m in September captures it in late-season flower, when many high-altitude gentians provide a final burst of colour before the onset of winter.

The species is a low, tufted perennial herb with a slender rootstock and basal rosettes of narrowly lanceolate to spathulate leaves. The flowering stems are short and often several, each bearing a solitary, erect, narrowly funnel-shaped to campanulate corolla. The corolla is blue to purplish-blue, frequently with greenish or pale spotting in the throat, the five lobes alternating with smaller plicate folds (plicae) characteristic of section Frigida-allied gentians. The calyx is tubular with linear lobes, and the fruit is a stipitate capsule, the elongate gynophore (the stipe) giving the species its epithet and a useful diagnostic feature; seeds are numerous and small.

Gentiana stipitata belongs to the species-rich autumn-flowering Himalayan gentians and is distinguished from related taxa by its conspicuously stipitate capsule and floral proportions. Like many high-alpine gentians it is closely tied to short cool growing seasons and snow-influenced microhabitats. Though not assessed as threatened, its restricted high-elevation habitat makes it sensitive to alpine warming and grazing pressure across its range.

Author: Edgew. · Sources: POWO (Kew), Flora of China Vol. 16, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, GBIF, Ho & Liu: A Worldwide Monograph of Gentiana (2001)

Gentianaceae

Gentiana tibetica

by G & P Jürgens

King ex Hook.f.

Bhutan2012 261
Bhutan Shele-La, 4100m September

Description

Gentiana tibetica is a robust perennial gentian of the high Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau, native to China (notably Xizang and Qinghai), Bhutan and Nepal; the scattered European, Korean and Japanese GBIF records derive from cultivation and herbaria rather than wild populations. It occupies the alpine and upper subalpine zone, growing in moist meadows, grassy hillsides, scrub margins and open stony slopes. The cited collection from Shele-La in Bhutan at about 4100 m in September places it among the late-flowering high-altitude flora of the eastern Himalaya, where it endures cold nights and a short growing season.

The plant is a stout, erect perennial herb forming a basal rosette from a thick rootstock. The basal and lower stem leaves are large, broadly elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, prominently several-veined and narrowed to a sheathing base, the cauline leaves becoming smaller and bract-like upward. The flowers are numerous and sessile, crowded into dense terminal and axillary clusters subtended by leafy bracts. Each flower has a membranous calyx and a tubular to narrowly funnelform corolla that is pale yellowish-white to greenish, often spotted, with short erect lobes and small plicate folds (plicae) between them. The fruit is a stipitate bivalved capsule releasing numerous small winged seeds.

Gentiana tibetica belongs to section Cruciata of the genus, the cluster-flowered gentians, and was described by King from Hooker's material. The pale tubular flowers are pollinated chiefly by bumblebees adapted to the cold montane climate. Like several large-rooted gentians it has a history of medicinal use of its bitter roots. Widespread and locally common on the plateau and its Himalayan rim, it is not considered threatened.

Author: King ex Hook.f. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of China, Flora of Bhutan, Ho & Liu's monograph of the Gentians of China (Gentiana)

Gentianaceae

Gentiana tubiflora

by G & P Jürgens

(G.Don) Griseb.

Bhutan2015 374
Bhutan Tumching-La 4000m, October
Bhutan2015 376
Bhutan Tumching-La 4000m, October
Bhutan2015 381
Bhutan Tumching-La 4000m, October
Bhutan2012 921
Bhutan Tumching-La 4000m, October

Description

Gentiana tubiflora is a dwarf alpine gentian of the Himalaya and the Tibetan plateau, recorded by GBIF from Nepal, India, Bhutan and China (a Malaysian datum is likely erroneous) across some 124 occurrences. It is a plant of high open ground: alpine turf, short grazed pastures, damp meadows, gravelly flushes and moist slopes near the upper limit of vegetation, typically between about 3500 and 4500 m. The specimen photographed at Tumching-La in Bhutan at 4000 m in October, flowering very late in the season, illustrates its tolerance of cold and its occupation of exposed, well-watered high-alpine grassland.

It is a small, tufted perennial herb forming low cushions or mats from a slender rootstock, with short, often prostrate to ascending leafy shoots. The leaves are small, opposite, linear to narrowly oblong, crowded and somewhat rigid, with cartilaginous margins. The flowers are solitary and terminal, the corolla narrowly tubular as the epithet indicates, with five short erect lobes alternating with small plicate folds, and coloured deep to pale blue. The calyx is tubular with narrow lobes, the stamens are inserted within the corolla tube, and the fruit is a stalked capsule that releases numerous minute seeds.

Gentiana is a large genus whose section of small-flowered, tube-corolla'd alpine species is especially diverse across the Sino-Himalaya, and G. tubiflora is a characteristic member of that high-elevation assemblage. The narrow tubular corolla and folds between the lobes channel access to specialised pollinators and protect the nectar, while the compact mat habit buffers the plant against wind and cold. The species is widespread and not regarded as threatened, forming a familiar element of late-flowering Himalayan alpine meadows.

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

Gentianaceae

Gentiana venusta 

by G & P Jürgens

(G.Don) Wall. ex Griseb.

Garw 2005 330 ergebnis
India Garhwal Bagubasa 4100m, September

Description

Gentiana venusta is a Himalayan alpine gentian ranging through India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bhutan, with about 103 documented occurrences tracing a broad arc along the high Himalaya from the western to the eastern ranges. It is a strict alpine, growing on open grassy slopes, alpine meadows, moist turf and stony pastures above the treeline, generally between roughly 3500 and 4500 m. The illustrated plant from Bagubasa in Garhwal at 4100 m, flowering in September, exemplifies its late-monsoon to early-autumn flowering, when these dwarf gentians colour the short alpine sward after the snow-fed turf has been grazed and the meadows begin to dry.

It is a small tufted annual or short-lived perennial forming low rosettes from which arise several decumbent to ascending, few-flowered stems. The leaves are small, sessile, obovate to spathulate and crowded basally, the cauline pairs more distant and lanceolate, with a narrow cartilaginous margin. The flowers are solitary or few, terminal, with a tubular calyx whose lobes are unequal, and a narrowly funnelform to club-shaped corolla that is pale blue, whitish or yellowish, often spotted within, with short erect lobes and conspicuous plicate, fimbriate to bifid intervening folds (plicae). The fruit is a stipitate, bivalved capsule containing numerous minute, smooth seeds.

The species belongs to Gentiana sect. Chondrophyllae, the large group of small-flowered annual Himalayan and Sino-Himalayan gentians, a notoriously difficult complex in which G. venusta is distinguished by floral and plical characters. The name G. venusta (G.Don) Wall. ex Griseb. is accepted. Flowering is closely tied to snowmelt and monsoon timing, and pollination is by small insects; the diminutive seeds are dispersed by wind and water. It is widespread and of least conservation concern.

Author: (G.Don) Wall. ex Griseb. · Sources: POWO (Kew), GBIF, Flora of Bhutan Vol. 2, Flora of Pakistan, Flora of Nepal, Ho & Liu A Worldwide Monograph of Gentiana